Hikikomori
by Conejo-sama
Summary: A young boy willing to help a fellow classmate in need. A fellow hikikomori willing to help Kazuma with more than just homework. And an enigmatic avatar as powerful as King Kazma himself. As far as Kazuma knew, this was the best summer ever. KazumaxOC
1. Chapter 1

**Well, this is it! Your New Years surprise: Hikikomori! A Summer Wars fanfiction.**

"**Summer Wars" is an awesome movie! I love this movie so much, I got it for Christmas! I especially love Kazuma because he's just so cool! So made I made another OC for this story. And as a New Year's resolution, I will finish all the stories I have and will publish this year!**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN "Summer Wars".**

**I hope you like it!**

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><p>King Kazma stood in his reigning glory in the world of OZ. If no one knew him before, everyone knew him now, and they didn't dare challenge him after what happened with Love Machine, the AI that nearly destroyed the world. But there were a few takers that were willing to challenge the King, if not for glory but for the fun of meeting a challenge such as him. And was King Kazma was <em>real<em> a challenge.

As always, King Kazma was undefeatable. Everyone forgot about that one moment when he was beaten and devoured by Love Machine because no one else stood a chance against the new and improved Kazma 2.0, especially with his knowledge of MMA. Not many gamers took fighting seriously, which made it easier for him to defeat them. And it was too easy. Despite all the time he spent online, this annoyed him very much. Was that all OZ was good for? Just playing games? Wasn't that the mistake people made when Love Machine nearly killed them all? It was getting ridiculous.

Three years since Love Machine was finally destroyed, and King Kazma stood on his pedestal still awaiting a new challenge. However, every challenge offered to him was denied. They were all the same: stupid gamers who just wanted to pass the time challenging a pro, which only wasted his time. Didn't these people have anything better to do? Obviously not, since they dying to have their butts handed to them. They were practically mocking his general profession. And it was extremely tedious, King Kazma thought. He knew there were many other capable players out there. He'd face them before, but for some reason, they were hiding from him. Maybe the Love Machine incident really got to them. So now instead of fighting, once and a while King Kazma would watch other tournaments from the sidelines to see any good fighters as he awaited this year's Martial Arts Championships to come around. But he doubted anybody had the power to take away his championship belt.

The King sighed, a digital puff coming out of his mouth. He was starting to feel like a real king this way—watching, but having no action. King Kazma only did this for the thrill of the action, but so far, he had none. These people were depending on him for protection, but what did that get him? Boredom.

After waiting for so long and denying so many people (one hundred and fifty-two exactly. He was bored enough to count), the King decided to leave and return to his "Home." Before he hopped off the pedestal, another request came up.

_**USAGI wants to challenge you. Do you accept?**_

At first, Kazma wasn't going to hesitate to deny this new challenge. But then when the challenging avatar appeared, he took a moment to scrutinize its appearance. It was a tan girl in a short yellow summer party yukata with a blue obi wrapped with yellow and blue ribbons, a blue leotard underneath, and yellow bow tied on the front. Sandals were the only things covering her feet. Her short ashen hair was covered with a yellow cap with a blue badge with a yellow star and two straps with buckles on each side. Two droopy, ebony bunny ears protruded from her cap. Her eyes, which were the same gray shade as her hair, were impassive, very sullen and relaxed. He'd never seen this person on OZ before. He would've ignored her like all the others if it wasn't for her rigid glare. Did she not realize that she was standing before the renowned, unconquerable King Kazma? But he wasn't completely deterred until he read the private message Usagi sent to him:

_**I've heard you won't take a challenge. If you don't accept, it's okay. I understand if you're scared. After fighting Love Machine, I wouldn't be surprised if you lost most of your eminence.**_

Ouch. That was insulting. That got to him. That _really_ got to him. Anyone who had the gall to bring up that AI would certainly pay for it. Usagi wouldn't get away with this.

However, that didn't mean this bunny would be anymore of a challenge than the other players. Usagi sounded like all talk, but how good was her action? Kazma hoped he wasn't wasting his time with this one. He gladly accepted the challenge.

Surprisingly, this challenge was different from all the others. For one, everyone else who challenged him wanted to fight him. The setting was Tokyo night, a setting he was very familiar with. This was going to be a race; anything was allowed and the first one to the finish buzzer was the victor. So much for a good fight, King Kazma thought as he prepared for a running start. Usagi just stood next to him, the same leaden shadow darkening her face. Her pink nose winkled as they waited impatiently. The ticking went off, making their rabbit ears twitch.

_**5... 4...**_

Many different avatars from across the world came to watch the race. This would be the first challenge King Kazma had taken in a while, and they couldn't wait to see what would happen. They wondered if this person even stood a chance against the legendary rabbit himself.

The white rabbit quickly glanced at the audience before glancing back at his opponent. Usagi's fingerless-gloved hands stayed at her sides. She didn't even look like she was going to try. Looks could be deceiving, he knew, so he stayed on his toes. Usagi also took this moment to look at the reigning champion. He had that same look on his face; he stood there, ready to lunge out, as if she wasn't a challenge but a mere obstacle that he could simply cross. Oh, would he be in for a surprise.

_**3... 2... 1... BEGIN!**_

The two flew off in a flash. None of the spectators could keep up with them. King Kazma was actually surprised at how fast Usagi was. She ran like a breeze. This must've been how it felt to watch him, he thought, watching something so fast your eyes couldn't keep up. However, this was just the beginning. The race was going to have a lot of obstacles, which meant they were going to be slowed down by other creatures and avatars who were allowed to interfere.

The first obstacle suddenly appeared 100 meters into the race. A few samurai decided to show their faces and try to shred them apart. King Kazma stopped to take the first samurai's sword and swung it under him. He used the hilt of the sword to put the other one into submission. While he was doing all of this, Usagi used this opportunity to leap over them smoothly and continue the race on her own. The rabbit noticed this and finished them off as quickly as he could to catch up with her. This one was good, Kazma thought, maybe even clever, but he knew the she-bunny wouldn't be able to avoid anymore obstacles as long as she was ahead of him.

This came true when another obstacle landed right in front of Usagi. A bulk warrior pulled a broad sword from his back and pointed it at her. She glanced back at King Kazma before returning her attention to the oversized man in front of her. She pulled out a scythe from her sleeve. The King nearly stopped in his tracks when she saw the weapon she was wielding. It was a black dragon scythe, one of the most potent weapons in OZ. Only someone as highly ranked as the King himself could acquire something so lethal. He finally realized Usagi was no ordinary opponent.

Usagi quickly brandished her scythe. It was a swift move that rendered the bulk man into digital debris. That didn't even take five seconds. The scythe disappeared into her sleeve and she continued forward.

More and more creatures continued to appear and hinder the two competitors. For some reason, these things didn't want them to finish, but that wasn't going to stop them anytime soon. With each obstacle, they both quickly disposed of the creatures so they could continue the race—King Kazma with his Shaolin Kung fu, and Usagi with her scythe. As the race went on, Usagi proved to be a very crafty and slick opponent. She not only was she dexterous with her scythe, but she also used a unique form of martial arts that he didn't recognize. When she was confronted by a crustacean-like monster, she didn't even need her scythe. The she-bunny expeditiously ran through the beams it was shooting at her and she jumped on its hard surface. It cracked and shattered into virtual pieces of nothing. This amused King Kazma; he was glad he accepted this challenge.

The buzzer was only a few meters away, and they were both at a draw. After all they'd been through in this race, Usagi still held that stoic expression, as if those obstacles were nothing. Where was this girl when Love Machine was running rampant?

The buzzer was insight and the only thing getting in their way was the bridge of ninjas that was going to attack them. King Kazma was ready to get rid of them all when Usagi suddenly jumped in front of him and used her scythe to clear their path. With one swift motion, every ninja was blown off the bridge. It took the rabbit a moment to get out of his stupor before he realized that Usagi was still ahead of him and she was getting further away as he continued to stand there. This she-bunny was just full of surprises.

Kazma was able to catch up with her when she suddenly stopped in her tracks. The buzzer was merely ten feet away from them. There could only be one victor, and neither of them was going to let the other succeed. The only way to win was to fight. King Kazma took his stance and waited for Usagi to pull out her weapon. However, Usagi continued to stand there. So it would be hand-to-hand combat. The King wasn't bothered by that at all. This made it simpler for him.

The two continued to stand there for a while. The spectators watched in awe as their King faced his counterpart. In between them was the buzzer, the one button that would claim their victory. King Kazma stared into her stiff eyes before lunging at her. He observed her tactics when they were racing, so he already predicted her first move before he could reach her. But before he could even touch her, Usagi took his shoulder and jumped over him. She landed like a feather and pirouetted to return his blow with a roundhouse kick in the neck. He didn't predict that move at all. Kazma stumbled back a bit before recovering and running forward to return her kick. However, he wasn't able to land a single blow on her since her kick. What was going on with him? She was literally dancing around him and he couldn't even fight back. And her relaxed expression didn't change a bit. He was quickly getting annoyed. If he didn't finish her soon, then he wouldn't win, and King Kazma was not going to lose another battle again, especially not in front of all these people.

He watched her timing this time instead of immediately reacting. Jump, spin, kick, punch, knee, kick, spin—it was like some impromptu dance routine combined with Kung fu. He finally caught her when she was on her toes. He caught her leg and twisted it a bit before sending her flying back in the arena. When she got up, she fell again. He was able to debilitate her. Now was his chance.

Kazma walked up to the buzzer to take his victory. He reached out to press his hand against the surface, the taste of victory already sweet upon his lips…

**...**

"_KAAAZZZZMAAAAA!_"

The 16-year-old boy grimaced when his little sister jumped on his back. He couldn't allow her to break his concentration, but it was too late. The she-bunny already recovered from her disposition and was slowly approaching his frozen avatar. The rabbit's hand was hovering over the giant button.

"Chi, get out of here!" he hissed. He didn't have to time to reach his keyboard when he took his sister off his back. Usagi had already kicked him off the arena by the time his fingers were working again. A giant glowing sign shown over the winner. King Kazma was returned to his Homepage and the screen went black. Kazuma froze in pure shock. He lost. This was the first actual challenge he had in who-knew-how long, and he lost. And it was all because his little sister chose the worst time to bother him.

He clenched his teeth and tried to take deep breath before glaring at his sister. The little girl was only two years of age, yet she was running all over the place, getting on his nerves, and basically getting him into all sorts of trouble. This being one of the times.

"Chiyo*! There you are!" Their mother Kiyomi couldn't have entered at a worse time. "Kazuma, what are you still doing up?"

"Me? What about Chiyo? She just ran in here and made me lose this match!"

Kiyomi glanced at his laptop's blank screen then back at the two siblings. She took a deep breath. "Kazuma, take your sister back to her room and come into the kitchen. I need to speak with you for a moment."

Kazuma nodded and waited for his mother to leave before scolding his sister. "I told you you're not supposed to be in here. I know you can understand me, and I'd wish you'd stop getting me into trouble."

The little girl could understand her brother clearly. She was clever, but at such a young age, she had the advantage of looking innocent whenever she didn't follow the rules. As far as she was concerned, she could do whatever she wanted, and all she wanted to do was get her big brother's attention. But apparently, Kazuma didn't want to do anything but play video games and practice his Kung fu. So Maiko tried other ways to get his attention, even if it meant getting on his nerves and getting him into trouble.

Chiyo climbed into her brother's lap and snuggled into his chest. Then she make a squeaky yawn. "Seepy," she murmured into his chest.

Kazuma sighed. "Whatever. I'll yell at you tomorrow." Chiyo held an invisible grin.

Even though she was a pain in the butt and nearly a spoiled brat, Kazuma had a special bond with his little sister. Chiyo was very attached to him for some reason, so he tried to play along with her little antics, but it was very hard since she was so good at her job: being a baby.

Kazuma carried his slumbering sister to her room. He walked among the stuffed animals littering the floor to get to her crib and tuck her in. He ran a hand over her dark locks before heading towards the kitchen. When he saw his mother's face, he knew there wasn't any good news.

"What'd I do? Chi's the one who came into my room—"

"It's not about Chiyo, Kazuma." She put a sheet of paper on the table for him to look at. However, he didn't move from his spot. "Can you explain these terrible grades of yours?"

"What terrible grades?"

"That's exactly what I'd like to know, Kazuma." Kiyomi took the sheet of paper back. "I don't know what's going on, if it's your Kung fu practices with Grandpa or these overnight online sessions—"

"It's nothing. I don't even know what you're talking about. I don't have bad grades." Kiyomi handed the piece of paper over to her son who reluctantly took it. It was his progress report. Kazuma skimmed the slim piece of paper quickly and was shocked to see such a terrible score. Three 'D's and an 'F'. He couldn't believe what he saw. These couldn't be his grades. He had much better markings during the period, he was sure of it.

"Your grades used to be so much better than this, Kazuma… Do you remember our deal?"

Kazuma glared at his mother. "Mom, no." He remembered the deal: as long as he kept his grades up, he could stay up and go on OZ as long as he liked—at a reasonable hour, of course. But if his grades began to slip up, then his parents would confiscate or limit his laptop rights. So far, he kept his deal, but his progress report apparently thought otherwise. "Mom, that isn't fair."

"I'm sorry, Kazuma, but I'm afraid I have to take away—"

"Mom, these can't be my grades. I haven't been flunking. I do all my homework, I study—this had to be fixed or something!"

"How am I supposed to know that?" Kiyomi pinched the bridge of her nose. "Okay, maybe it's not you. Maybe this is hard because it's your first year in high school. Has anything happened? Are you being bullied again?"

"No! Mom, I swear, I've been giving it my all. I don't know what happened…"

Seeing the sincerity in his eyes, Kiyomi began to reconsider their deal. "Alright, how about this: you can continue to go on OZ _if_… you can find a tutor to help you with your summer homework."

"A _tutor_?" he spat. The three most impossible things happened to Kazuma on this very night: he was defeated by another opponent on OZ (for the second time in his life), he was flunking school, and now, his mother was suggesting for him to get a _tutor_. "There's no way in—"

"Fine, fine. We don't have to find you a tutor. We could ask one of your cousins."

"No!" The sound of his sister crying suddenly echoed through the hallway, and Kazuma silently cursed for accidentally waking up his sister.

Kiyomi frowned at his son. "Well, either you find yourself a tutor, or I take away your laptop privileges." Kiyomi left with the last word to attend to her youngest.

Kazuma sat down at the isle and put his face in his hands. How was he going to find a tutor outside the Jinnouchi family? He had plenty of relatives who could "help" him, but he didn't want any of them to know about his predicament. He also didn't want to risk having his laptop privileges taken away and no longer being allowed on OZ. The masses of OZ citizens would go crazy if their King suddenly disappeared. They depended on him so much after what happened with Love Machine. If he suddenly didn't appear one day, they'd probably think the worst. OZ didn't need anymore chaos. Losing that race bruised his ego enough, and this definitely made it worse. But he had to do it for the good of mankind.

When he returned to his room, Kazuma stared back at the black screen of his laptop before closing it. Thinking about that battle wasn't helping him sleep. That tan she-bunny wouldn't leave his mind. Whether it was her exotic fighting style, her weapon choice, or even her appearance—the 16-year-old boy had no idea why she enthralled him so much.

Later that night, when he was finally able to drift off, he dreamed of a white rabbit with gray eyes giving a personal dance to him, King Kazma…

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><p>Kazuma wasn't a fan of school. He didn't talk about it, he didn't think about; he just did what he parents told him to do and went on with his reclusive life. However, now that he had to look for someone to help him with his summer work, he actually had to <em>talk<em> to people. It wasn't like he never talked to any of his classmates, but he tried not to talk to them as much as possible. The bullying was still an issue. For some reason, he attracted trouble. He managed to keep that a secret from his relatives, including his parents, and it gave his classmates a reason not to talk to him, either.

Also, Kazuma didn't know any of his classmates. After all those years, he still didn't even have someone he could consider a friend, except maybe Kenji, but he was long gone at Tokyo U with his second cousin Natsuki, he heard. But even after he was gone, he still didn't hang out with anyone other than his family and the people he met online. Then again, he didn't know any of _those_ people, either.

Once he was seated at his desk, he decided to observe some of his classmates as he waited for his teacher to arrive. There was a group of girls giggling over something frivolous. He never really understood girls, even after his sister was born (but she was only two, so he had yet to understand her simple mind). There were also three boys discussing video game cheats, something Kazuma didn't see the point or need of. Using cheats was another way of saying you couldn't handle the game, he always thought. How you played the game was based on knowledge. There was also group of students he assumed were the "populars", which immediately disinterested him. So far, he wasn't amused.

Five minutes passed and the teacher still wasn't there. Great, Kazuma thought. His teacher was usually on time. Why he chose the last day of school before summer break to be late, he had no idea. The tan boy decided to use this time to escape his jungle of a classroom and get a drink of water. Just as he was walking through the door, someone bumped into his chest. It was a girl about his age, probably another one of his classmates. She rubbed her practically white hair and looked up at him. The shock of running into one of her classmates was hidden beneath the lenses she was wearing. She quickly bowed and apologized before moving past him and into the classroom. Kazuma never noticed that girl before; of course, he never really paid attention to his other classmates, either, until he needed a tutor.

As he continued through the hallway, he saw his teacher coming towards him. Finally.

"Back to class, Ikezawa."

"Just getting a drink, sir," Kazuma replied

"Don't take long."

He nodded his head tersely. "Yes, sir." Kazuma did just that before returning to the classroom. Everyone was already in their seats by the time he returned, and he ignored the looks he received as he walked back to his desk. Just as he was walking, he noticed the girl who bumped into him earlier sitting in the corner of the front row near the doors. She didn't turn and watch him like the others did. She just sat there and waited for class to begin like he was doing not a moment ago.

As the duration of class went on, Kazuma kept his gaze on the girl in the corner. He saw that she wasn't taking any notes. She listened and watched as the teacher lectured and put notes on the board, but she didn't pick up her pen. But then at one point in class, she finally picked up a pencil and started scribbling something down. From where he was sitting—a row and three seats away—he could see from the fluid motions of her hand that she wasn't taking notes like she was supposed to. He didn't blame her; it was only the last day before summer official began. But then she didn't see the teacher standing over her.

"Miss Takane?" The girl froze when she heard her teacher's strict voice but she didn't look up. She didn't even look embarrassed. Kazuma watched her intensely. "Would you like to answer the question?"

"382,394."

Everyone was astounded by her abrupt answer, even Kazuma, even though he wasn't paying attention to what the teacher saying at all. He didn't think she was paying attention either, but by the look on his teacher's face, he assumed she was correct. He went on with class after that and didn't bother asking her anymore questions. Her participation in class didn't improve, though, but as long as their teacher knew she was paying attention in some way, she could continue to do whatever she was doing without disturbing the class. Kazuma couldn't even tell if she was still paying attention or not.

He was impressed. Now that was the kind of person he needed as a tutor.

Before anyone knew it, class was over and summer had officially begun. Before the teacher could wish them a good summer, most of his classmates went out of their way to rush out of the classroom. Kazuma, and the girl, had the good sense to wait for the crowd to clear before leaving. Kazuma planned on talking to the girl before heading home but the girl was already gone. He sighed. Oh well. He had no choice but to ask one of his cousins now.

Kazuma's trips home were usually elongated. The Jinnouchi manor was farther away from everything else: school, stores, even the neighbors. Since school was the closest thing nearby, he walked. Sometimes he ran into potential bullies when he returned home, but since today was their last day of school, Kazuma figured bullies wouldn't want to waste their freedom picking on inferior students when they could be on OZ right now.

Unfortunately this wasn't the case. Just as he was going to turn a corner, Kazuma saw the girl from his class—Takane, was it?—walking her bike home. He didn't get a chance to talk to her today. What better time than to ask right now as she was going home? That is, unless those boys got in his way.

He recognized those boys. They were the ones who usually waited for him to walk the corner he usually took to go home. The boy in the front, the ring leader, threw something on the ground and front tire suddenly went flat. Kazuma growled under his breath. Were these boys so bored they had to bother other innocent students when _he_ wasn't around?

Kazuma stepped out of his hiding spot to help, but when he saw the situation, he stopped mid-step. The girl kicked the leader in the gut and sent him flying past his fellow peers, a move the young man recognized from his years of Shaolin Kung fu experience in reality and the virtual world. But then she did something he didn't even fathom. When the next boy lunged at her, she took his shoulder, jumped over him, and pirouetted like a ballerina before kicking him in the neck. Kazuma watched in awe as the girl continued to pick off each boy, moving in such smooth motions; he'd never seen anyone make Kung fu look so graceful. When she finished off the final one, her glasses fell down nose and on the ground. When she picked them up, she cursed.

"Damn," she murmured, but Kazuma could still hear her. "My parents won't be happy about this."

The girl stuffed her glasses in her pockets begrudgingly. She stepped over the pile of unconscious boys to grab her bike and began walking home like the incident didn't happen. When she was gone, Kazuma stepped out of his hiding spot and gawked at the scene. He'd never seen a girl do that before. Most of the girls at his school weren't really into this kind of stuff, but _this_ girl—how the hell did he manage to _not_ acknowledge her existence this whole time?

A groan erupted from the pile of incapacitated boys and Kazuma laughed at their misery. Served them right for all those years of torture they gave to him.

As he began to walk home again, Kazuma replayed that wonderful moment of time. He wouldn't forget that moment, and he _definitely_ forget that name.

Takane.

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><p><strong>Chiyo - child of a thousand generations.<strong>

**I thought that name fit Kazuma's little sister perfectly because there are so many members in the Jinnouchi family and she's the youngest member.**

_**R&R!**_


	2. Chapter 2

**I thought I'd wait to get some reviews. I started and finished this chapter after the first chapter, but it's nice to see what people think of the story so far before publishing the next bit. I couldn't wait any longer (and one review is still okay). So thank you to MydniteShadow1996 for your review. It means so much!**

**I'm glad you're enjoying it so far!**

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><p>Yuri didn't think this day was any different from the others. She got through the school day like everybody else and waited to get home so she could go online and escape to the wonderful world of OZ. Yuri wasn't a typical fan of OZ; some might go to the extreme of calling her a <em>hikikomori<em>.

_Click. Bing! (2) New Messages._

Nothing new happened in her daily life. Reality could be a harsh bitch sometimes, so Yuri left the world for an extensive period of time to go on OZ. She had no friends. Her family didn't discourage her from being so anti-social. She knew right from wrong, and as long as she did what she thought was right, she could basically do whatever she wanted and there wasn't anyone in this world who would stop her.

_Bing! (3) New Messages._

Of course, life so far hadn't been very fair to Yuri. Why should she stay in reality when there was OZ, the place where nothing bad happened to her? Why should she stay in reality when there were tons of people on OZ who actually talked to her and acknowledged her existence? Of course, one couldn't be too popular. She didn't want to start attracting those weirdoes you heard about everyday. She wasn't as careless as people might've thought she was. She didn't just talk to anyone on OZ. There were many restrictions on the Internet, and she was very glad for them.

_Bing! (8) New Messages._

After the thing that happened with that AI, Yuri was very cautious about what she did and who she communicated with on OZ. She was one of the few lucky OZ citizens who didn't have their accounts stolen by Love Machine, so none of her information was manipulated with. But she didn't want that to discourage her from chatting with other people online. After all, communication was the number one resource on OZ. No one couldn't _not_ talk to anyone. Everyone was social. Yuri wasn't the solitary, invisible girl she was in reality. But she tried not to stick out too much. However, OZ didn't make that simple for her. It offered real challenges. And she enjoyed challenges.

_**NEW CHALLENGE! NEW CHALLENGE!**_

This was news to Yuri. No one had sent her a challenge before. She wasn't busy most of the time, but she still had a job to do. She was one of the few who was hired to work for OZ, so she had little time to play around. Of course, when she had more time, she took full advantage of that. This person seemed desperate. This amused her. Someone was desperate to challenge her? She smirked to herself. Maybe she should read her other messages first, she thought. She wouldn't back down from the challenge, but keeping them waiting would just egg them on and their compulsiveness would make the game a lot more pleasurable. However, the challenger wasn't going to let her off that easily.

_**KING KAZMA wants to challenge you. Do you accept?**_

This was really different. King Kazma was the prominent avatar that destroyed Love Machine three years ago. And after those long three years, he barely fought anyone. In fact, she heard that he didn't accept challenges anymore. Was he that bored of OZ already? No, she knew King Kazma would forever stay in the heart of OZ. He was their savior. But she wasn't that impressed. She didn't forget when Love Machine took him down twice—everyone else seemed to, though. But after all those years of waiting, why now? What made her special? Even in OZ, Yuri was just as invisible…

_New message from KING KAZMA._

_**You're going to pay for yesterday. Accept the challenge, if you may. Pick a date of your choosing. It doesn't matter. I can wait.**_

Now that was tempting. Before she considered taking the challenge, she went on to check her new messages. They were all from the King himself. She almost felt honored that he went through all this trouble to just get her attention. Almost. But a challenge was a challenge, and Yuri was always up for one. She was about to accept the challenge when the phone in the kitchen suddenly rang. Wow, two surprises in a row. She wondered what was up. Nobody seldom ever called her before. She didn't recognize the number on caller ID. When she picked it up, she hesitated a moment before answering, "… H-Hello?"

"Hey, um, Yuri? It's me… Kazuma Ikezawa."

Yuri froze. Kazuma Ikezawa from the Jinnouchi clan? She wondered what was so important. "What… What's up?"

"I'm sorry to bother you, and I know it's late." Yuri glanced at her clock. 3:05. She wasn't worried about the time. She usually stayed up later than this. But it was pretty unusual anyone would call her at this hour, especially Kazuma. From the tone of his voice, she could tell he wasn't accustomed to calling anyone at this hour, either. This must've been important. "And since it's so late," he continued, "I was wondering… Do you—I mean, _could_ you meet me tomorrow at noon? I want to… talk to you about… something…"

From his droningly nervous tone, she could tell that he wasn't enjoying this. He was probably doing this against his will. She wouldn't blame him for being in so much pain. But if he needed to talk to her, she guessed she could spare the time. It wasn't like she had anything to do tomorrow.

"Sure, I guess."

She thought she heard him breathe out in relief. "Thanks. I'll see you tomorrow. I'll meet you at the Takumura's."

"Okay... See ya, I guess."

"Yeah, bye."

Yuri never felt so relieved when he hung up first. That was extremely awkward. It was the first time she ever talked to that boy and it was on the phone several miles away from each other, yet she felt as if she was talking to him face-to-face. Why did the simplest of things turn out harder than they seemed to be?

Yuri hung up the phone and went back into the world of OZ. When she clicked the OK button to accept King Kazma's challenge, a box appeared informing her that he wasn't online. Yuri sighed and shrugged. They'd have to meet up on another day. For now, she'd sign off and go to bed. For some reason, she felt exhausted after talking to Kazuma. Maybe it was better if she went to bed early (well, earlier than usual). She had to be prepared for what she would face tomorrow in the harsh bitch called Reality.

* * *

><p>Takumura's was the little ice cream shop that was surrounded by mostly people of the younger variety. The shop was one of the few places where teenagers from Ueda High School could keep connect with their friends besides on the phone. Despite the amount of people who loitered outside the shop, it still wasn't very popular, in fact it was mostly empty and quiet, which it made the perfect place for two people to talk in private. But since Yuri wasn't a very social person, she didn't often go to Takumura's.<p>

Yuri arrived there first thing at eleven sharp. She knew she was an hour early and there wasn't much to do in this town, but it was a far walk from her house. And her parents didn't mind; her parents trusted her, so she could go any place she wanted (within reason). She didn't go to many places, though, so when Kazuma called her, that served as a great excuse to get out of the house and get some exercise.

She was still surprised about his late night call. It wasn't for the fact that he called _her_ but the fact that he was talking to someone outside of school at all. Kazuma wasn't known to be a very social person. If she didn't know any better, she would say that he was also a _hikikomori_. But ever since he moved to Ueda three years ago, he started attracting bullies, despite his cynicism, which involved him in many after school brawls that seldom had large audiences. Apparently, Kazuma was a fierce fighter, but for some reason, boys kept going after him. Everyone else avoided him because of that. But that was everyone else. She had her own reasons for not talking to the Ikezawa boy all these years.

Since she was so early, Yuri had tons of time to kill. She brought her cell phone on her person, so she spent the time waiting by playing mini games in the casino area. She didn't bet anything, so there were many takers who were willing to play with her. It was convenient when both of the players had nothing on them to bet. On her fifth game of poker, her stomach demanded food. She only ate a bowl of leftovers from her fridge that morning. That obviously wasn't enough. She bought herself a cup of regular vanilla, but she barely took a bite out of it. By the time Kazuma arrived, she had a sweet cup of frothy soup.

He was wearing a plain blue hoody with cargo shorts and sandals. His face held the same cool expression she saw everyday in class, his bangs covering most of the right side of his tan face, and his hands were stuck in his pockets. Even as he approached the ice cream shop, Yuri continued to play her game. By the time he was in the store, she was on her eighth game. Even as he seated himself in front of her, she didn't stop. It would've been rude to discontinue the game. Kazuma didn't seem bothered by this at all. He just sat there and watched her as she played. She glanced at him in her periphery before quickly returning to the game. In that brief second, she saw Kazuma gazing at her ice cream cup.

"Were you waiting long?" he asked.

"No," she lied.

A beat passed. "Are you winning?"

She gave him a shrug. "I don't really know how to play poker," she confessed. "I thought I'd give it a try."

Kazuma nodded his head as if he understood. "You're not wearing your glasses," he pointed out.

"They're broken."

"Don't you need them?"

She shrugged again. "Not really. It's not a big deal."

Once the game was over, Yuri closed her phone and set it on the table. "I lost."

Kazuma tilted his head to the side a bit. She figured he had something to say about her poor eyesight, but he simply replied with a, "Better luck next time."

Yuri ignored his comment to look at him once more. He was slouched back in his chair, his hands still in his pockets. He didn't look like he came to talk about anything important. In fact, he looked less enthused to be here. She would've felt offended if she didn't feel the same way. She didn't have anything important to do today, but she didn't want to stay long.

"So." She took in a spoonful of vanilla soup. "An ice cream shop, huh?"

"It's quiet here." That was certainly true. They were two of the five people actually inside the shop.

"So what'd you want to talk about?"

Kazuma's hand left his pocket and went behind his neck. "Um… I don't know how to say this…" His voice had a similar tone to the one she heard on the phone. Now that she could see his face, she could really spot the pain in his winkled eyebrows and clenched jaw. He _really_ didn't want to be here.

"Say what?" she inquired.

"Well… I kind of need… a tutor."

Time suddenly stop in that one moment. "You need a what?"

"I need someone to help me with my summer work. My grades aren't as great as I thought they were, and my mom's making me find someone help me so I can improve."

Despite the desperate, sincere, and extremely embarrassed look on his face, Yuri didn't believe a single word he just said. Kazuma was smart, everyone knew that. He was probably one of the smartest people in their class. He was usually on the top of the list when it came to academia (next to her, obviously). After hearing his explanation, she almost laughed. She figured he had to be doing this against his will before he told her; it was written all over his face. And asking something like this so suddenly on the first day of summer break—this had to be the biggest load of bullshit she ever heard. "Is this some kind of joke or something? Did someone dare you to pull this prank on me?"

"I wouldn't have asked you to come here last night if I was joking, Yuri."

Yuri looked away and thought for a moment as she played with the remainder of her melted ice cream. Now _that_ was certainly true. No one really called anyone at 3:05 AM unless it was some kind of emergency or something along those lines. Then again, why ask her of all people? "Is this because of what happened yesterday when Mr. Tamura called on me?"

"Well… yeah, kind of." Kazuma sighed. She guessed she should've taken this as a compliment, but she knew he had more to say. "Look, I know this is sudden and we don't know each other _at all_, but I'm desperate. I know you're smart, too. And if you won't help me, then I'm going to have to ask one of my cousins."

"What's wrong with that?"

"You don't know my family. They don't even know about my terrible grades. If they found out…"

Yuri almost resented him for talking so blatantly about his own family. He was lucky to have so many people willing to help in his time of need, even if it was something as simple as school work. Then again, she couldn't be empathetic. She had no idea what his life was life and vice versa. They barely knew each other, so she had no right to feel mad at him. And if his family was as difficult as he exaggerated them to be, then maybe she could help him. After all, she had nothing better to do.

"When are you available?"

Kazuma looked up at Yuri, utter shock masking his face. "Wait, you'll help me?"

Yuri shrugged indifferently. "I have nothing better to do. I mean, I do have a job on OZ, but I'll find a way to make it work. And since we're going to be working on summer work, I figure I could work on my stuff with you."

The tan boy nearly grinned. "Thanks. You don't know how much I appreciate this."

"It's no problem, really."

Kazuma took out his phone. "What's your number? I'll send you my address so we can meet tomorrow."

Yuri picked up her phone. When they exchanged information, Kazuma left with a wave, leaving in the same suave fashion as when he entered the ice cream shop. Yuri sighed. That wasn't as hard as she thought it was going to be. For some reason, talking in person was much simpler than just talking on the phone like they did last night. Maybe it was because she could see his face. Maybe it was because she was just so anti-social, talking to people in general was like talking in a different language altogether. Or maybe it was simpler to talk to him in person because he was just as solitary as she was and they could communicate on a better level than average teenagers.

Picking up her cup of ice cream, she slurped up the rest of her ice cream soup before throwing away the cup and leaving to return home. She would've biked home, but she still had to replace that tire. Yuri sighed.

Reality was still a harsh bitch.

* * *

><p>Yuri didn't gap at the sight of the immense entry way to the Jinnouchi Estate. It was as she expected it to be. Their family was extremely old, so she wasn't surprised to see all this land. She especially wasn't surprised to see their enormous manor at such a far distance. It wasn't a mansion, merely a typical traditional Western home. She'd seen plenty when she was a kid. This wasn't anything special.<p>

Even after she passed the entranceway, Yuri still had to walk a great distance to get to the manor. The manor seemed to get bigger and wider with each step she took. Of all the times for her tire to go flat, that stupid jock had to flatten it when she had a summer job like this. She was going to have to walk here all the way from her house _everyday_. It didn't seem like a lot of work to her, but it was a matter of principle! He had no reason to flatten her tire but to be an ass in front of his friends to make himself look cool. Why people thought that was entertaining, she would never know. That was just another part of the harsh reality she had to live through: one man's pain was another man's pleasure.

When she finally made it to the front, she found Kazuma waiting there for her. Today, he was wearing a red and black wife beater, the same cargo shorts from yesterday, and nothing to cover his feet. She was glad she didn't dress to impress. She was wearing an ebony spaghetti strapped tank top, jeans shorts, and sandals. Her short ashen hair was pulled up in a shoddy ponytail. Her backpack hung lazily over her shoulder. She didn't look much better.

"Hey," he said with a wave.

She waved back.

Once that awkward exchange of salutations was done with, Kazuma gestured for her to follow him into the house. She took off her sandals before stepping inside. Yuki observed the portraits of ancient relatives as they walked through the hallway. She noticed the next picture was of a younger generation. The last one was an elderly woman wearing a yellow yukata and glasses. She looked so familiar it frustrated Yuri.

"That's my great grandmother, Sakae Jinnouchi."

Yuri's head turned so fast, she nearly got whiplash. Kazuma was staring at her with his arms akimbo. "What?"

"You stopped walking when you saw her picture. I thought I'd tell you her name in case you were interested."

"Oh." Yuri didn't even notice that she stopped walking. The picture was really distracting. She didn't know why that woman felt familiar to her. She'd never even met this woman in her life. Maybe she resembled a past relative. Yuri immediately dismissed that thought. She barely remembered any of _her_ relatives. Why would she assume she knew _this_ woman? "Great grandmother, huh? How old was she?"

"She died the day before she turned 90 three years ago."

"Oh," was her reply again. She didn't like giving other people her pity because then they'd return it, and Yuri _hated_ pity. And she was sure Kazuma didn't want to talk about his late great grandmother. She looked away from the portrait and continued to follow Kazuma, though she had an unruly feeling that Sakae's eyes were following her.

The two passed a series of hallways and rooms that seemed really vacant. And the silence made the place seem even bigger than it appeared. "Where is everyone?" she asked herself.

"My other relatives aren't coming until later in July," Kazuma answered, hearing Yuri's question. "We get together during the summer to celebrate Granny's birthday." Yuri figured he was talking about his great grandmother. "Right now, it's just my grandparents, a few of my cousins, my parents, and me and my sister."

"You have a sister?"

Kazuma nodded. "She's turning three in August." Yuri nodded. "So what about your family?"

"Kazuma?" a soft voice called from behind them. Yuri was relieved to have that little interruption. She turned to see a woman walking towards them. She had Kazuma's dark eyes. "Who's this?"

"Mom, this is Yuri, one of my classmates from school," Kazuma introduced. "She's going to be helping me with my homework."

Kiyomi smiled at their new guest. "It's nice to finally meet one of Kazuma's friends!" she said.

"_Mom. _She's just helping me with homework. It's not a big deal."

Kiyomi laughed. "Whatever you say, dear.

Kazuma turned away to hide his flustering blush.

Yuri stifled a giggle. She wouldn't admit it, but Kazuma was cute when he was embarrassed. "It's nice to meet you, too," she replied. She bowed in front of the older woman.

Kiyomi walked up to her son. "She's a cutie, isn't she?" she whispered.

Kazuma sputtered. "_Mom!_"

"I'm sorry, dear. I couldn't help myself." Yuri watched with interest as mother and son interacted with each other. It was nostalgic watching something so natural. Her parents were at home, but they were still so far away. "Oh, and by the way, Kazuma," Kiyomi said, "I wanted to tell you your father's going to be on another business trip. He'll be back just in time for Granny's birthday."

"Alright. Come on, Yuri."

Before Kiyomi left, she shouted back to the teens, "You kids try not to have too much fun!"

Kazuma grimaced. "_Let's go, Yuri_," he hissed. He didn't want to wait for her to follow, so he took her wrist and continued to lead her through the house.

They finally made it to a large, vacant room. There was a low table in front of a large TV. The paper doors were open wide, allowing the summer heat and sunshine to light the room. It also showed the beautiful fields of produce that the family owned. Yuri tore her gaze away from the outside and back to the table. There was a workbook and a textbook occupying the table. "Have you already started?" she asked.

"Yeah."

She went over to the table and checked his work. Kazuma watched carefully as she scrunched her eyes as she looked at the paper. She pulled it out in front of her to get a better view. She shortly gave up; it was a frivolous effort without her glasses. But even without her glasses, she could still tell that he finished the first few pages. "You already know how to do this, right?" Kazuma nodded curtly. "Do you even need a tutor?" She waited for him to reply. He shook his head remorsefully. "So… I just came out here for nothing?"

"No, not nothing." The tan boy joined her at the table. "You can't read a thing without your glasses, can you?"

Yuri scoffed. "Of course I can."

"Read this."

Yuri squinted her eyes again. "It says… Matter and Physics?"

Kazuma smirked. "This is the math book."

Yuri's head fell down. "Fine, I admit it. I'm farsighted. I can't read anything without my glasses." Kazuma had no idea how upset she was. Yuri didn't like admitting she had weaknesses. "So?"

"Then I'll help you."

"Why would you want to help me? We barely know each other."

Kazuma shrugged. "I don't know. We're classmates. And I was really impressed the other day when you answered Mr. Tamura's question so quickly." Yuri didn't see why that impressed him. She heard the problem even as she was doodling in class, but Mr. Tamura apparently didn't think so. She easily solved the problem in her head before he even called on her. What could she say? She was a multi-tasker. "I still need your help. With these bad grades, my mom thinks I need a tutor. I need you to pretend that you're helping, and while we pretend, I can actually help you with yours."

"I don't know… You didn't tell me I had to lie to your family."

"You won't have to." Yuri was still unsure. "It won't be long. Just until you get your glasses fixed."

Yuri bit her lip. She didn't know how long that'd take. She wouldn't have time to get them fixed since she had to walk to Kazuma's house everyday and back. And as long as her glasses were rendered useless, she would need another pair of eyes to help her do her summer work. "Fine. I'll play along."

Kazuma gave her an appreciative smile. "Thanks. I really owe you one."

_You can start now by paying for my new glasses_. _And my busted tire._

Yuri sighed before she took out her school stuff from her backpack. Reality was still a bitch to her. "Alright, what's the first problem?"

* * *

><p>Yuri arrived home later than she thought she would. It took them a while to do the work since Yuri was farsighted, but she eventually became accustomed to writing down what Kazuma told her to. His mom was extremely generous; she felt bad she was deceiving such a nice woman. As they worked, she often came into the room to either supply snacks or tease her son. This time, Yuri didn't hide her laughs as he blushed with embarrassment. It was still cute.<p>

When it was time for her to leave, Kiyomi insisted that she'd stay for dinner. Yuri generously refused, but this woman was persistent. Yuri eventually gave in (mainly because she didn't know how to get out of this place. It was like a giant labyrinth). Yuri met a few of Kazuma's other relatives. There were his grandparents: Mariko was Sakae's daughter who attended to the house; she had two children Riichi and Rika. Mansuku was Sakae's son, a doctor. He had three sons who had families of their own. He was also a pervert; Yuri didn't say anything to him the whole night. His other grandfather ran a fish market outside of town, and he'd be arriving in a few days or so. Then there was Wabisuke, Kazuma's illegitimate uncle. He seemed like a pretty nice guy, but for some reason, Kazuma resented him. She didn't ask him about it despite her curiosity. She later met their dog, Hayate. He was really rambunctious for his old age. The only other person missing was Kazuma's sister, Chiyo. But she already had dinner and was put to bed early. Kazuma explained to her that there would be plenty more relatives coming, but he doubted she would meet them by the time they finished their homework.

By the time Yuri could leave, she was extremely drained. That wasn't even all of Kazuma's relatives, and they were a handful. But they also seemed like a fun bunch. She wondered how many more would be coming to visit. She wouldn't mind meeting the rest of them despite how embarrassed Kazuma was during dinner. Seeing his blush in her mind made her laugh again. It was a treat seeing those emotions on Kazuma's face besides those cool, indifferent looks she always saw at school.

When Yuri returned home, she did what she always did when she walked through the door. She shouted to her parents. "Mom, Dad, I'm home!" She didn't expect her parents to reply. They never did. But they were always home to welcome her.

The young girl went straight to her room. Her parents were waiting for her, welcoming smiles gracing their faces. Yuri dropped her stuff on the floor carelessly before approaching the picture of her parents. They always had those looks on their faces when she came home, loving and caring. It was almost as if she wasn't alone. She kissed the picture. "I'm back, Mom, Dad." She set the frame down. "Sorry I'm late. Kazuma's helping me with my homework now since my glasses broke the other day." No reply. "I met the Jinnouchi family today. Well, some of them. They were really nice, especially Kazuma's mom. And Kazuma was… himself, I guess. I never really knew him before today, so it was interesting seeing him acting the way he did. It seemed completely natural." The frame stared at her, still no reply. She smiled. "I guess I'm no different."

She glanced at clock. 11:37. She still had plenty of time before her inner clock clocked out. "I'll just go on OZ for a sec. I still have a job to do and I won't get paid if I don't do some work." She pouted. "Juggling two summer jobs at once is going to be hard. But Reality can throw whatever she can at me. I can take it."

* * *

><p><em><strong>R&amp;R!<strong>_


	3. Chapter 3

**Even though this is just the third chapter, I have to say I'm on a roll! I finished this chapter the day after I finished the second one. I seriously hope you people are reading. I can't stop writing and I used to have such terrible writer's block, so this is a treat for you Summer Wars fans!**

**Oh, and there was a mistake I made in the first chapter, so anyone reading should probably read the first chapter again (if you want to). Thank you to EX33 for pointing that out to me.**

**Now enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Today wasn't as much of a pain as it was yesterday. Asking her to do something so… <em>embarrassing<em> was very unsettling to Kazuma. But when it came down to it, they worked really hard today. If he'd known about Yuri's poor eyesight beforehand, maybe he would've asked someone else to help him with the predicament he was in. But no one fascinated him as much as Yuri did. And her predicament fixed his. There wouldn't be much lying involved. Someone did need help with their homework (even though it wasn't Kazuma, and Yuri didn't have bad grades as far as he knew). Problem solved… sort of.

And it wasn't just the homework. It was Yuri herself. She was different. She wasn't like everyone else at their obnoxious school. Sure, he had only lived in Ueda for three years, but that was because his dad's job finally allowed them to move someplace he enjoyed: his passed great grandmother's manor in Ueda. That was the first time he was actually grateful his dad had such a demanding job. And he was sure lucky to have bullies at his new school in Ueda (note the sarcasm)! Kazuma didn't care. He didn't care what other people thought of him. It wasn't his fault the bullies liked to mess with him. He was just… different. And Yuri didn't care about that, either. In a way, they were the same. Those bullies took advantage of her by flattening her tire and breaking her glasses because she was different, too. Another empathetic reason to ask her for help and to help her in return.

He was glad his family didn't do anything to humiliate him today. Sure, most of the Jinnouchi clan was scattered across Japan, but there were still some of the close relatives he had that embarrassed him plenty, his uncle Mansuku for example. For a doctor, he liked making many perverted jokes. Then there was his mom, who kept sending him hints about Yuri being more than just a friend, even though he had to keep reminding her that they weren't friends at all. Kazuma didn't deny the possibility of him and Yuri eventually forming some sort of friendship during this endeavor, but right now, they were just classmates helping each other out with homework.

Then there was OZ.

When Yuri left, Kazuma immediately went to his room to go on OZ. He found Chiyo sitting on the floor, fingering the laptop. "Chi, how are you always able to find your way in here?" The little girl just smiled and giggled when she saw her older brother.

She waddled up to him and hugged his leg. "Kazma! Kazma!" she cried.

He picked her up. "Come on, Chi. I'm taking you to bed before Mom finds that you're missing."

"Pway," she said.

"Sorry, Chi. I can't play with you tonight." He would've promised tomorrow, but Yuri would be coming over again. "Just go to sleep, okay?" Once again, Kazuma took his baby sister to her room and tucked her in her crib. "Please stay. I don't want to have to get Mom." He kissed her forehead. "Go to sleep," he said more softly. "Goodnight, Chi."

"Night night, Kazma," she murmured. This time, Kazuma stayed to make sure that his sister stayed asleep for the rest of the night. When he heard her steady breathing and even snoring, he knew she was asleep. He quickly tiptoed out of the room and back to his room.

Kazuma sighed when he saw the tiny fingerprints on his laptop. Little sisters: they were a pain, but you couldn't help but love them. And Chiyo was still only 2-years-old, so he tried not to think on it too much. Instead, Kazuma flipped the PC open and began his journey back into the wonderful world of OZ…

**O.O**

King Kazma checked for any messages he could've received the night before. However, he received nothing from Usagi. It had been two days since that awful defeat he suffered, courtesy of Chiyo. Since he was so distracted that night, Kazma thought it was only fair that they had a rematch. He sent her a challenge, but so far, there was no indication that she was interested at all. He knew she was online, but why wasn't she responding? Was she no longer interested in him because he lost to her? Talk about shallow. But he couldn't make such assumptions. Usagi was a serious fighter. She took these games more seriously than other opponents he'd faced in the past. That's what made her special.

He tried finding her the old fashioned way. He started a chain e-mail, asking anyone if they knew where Usagi was hiding. So far, there were no positive responses:

_**Sry, K. Couldn't find Usagi.**_

_**Ich habe noch nie von ihr gehört. (I've never heard of her)**_

_**¿Usagi?**_

King Kazma was irritated. He should've known better than to ask people he didn't know if they knew let alone heard of Usagi. How ironic, he thought. For once, he needed help and no one was there to give it to him. He didn't like playing this card, but he felt that the citizens of OZ owed him for saving all of their accounts, not to mention their _lives!_

But as he looked at the messages he was receiving, he noticed that these people had no idea what he was talking about. This was surprising news. There were thousands of people who witnessed the race he and Usagi had a few days ago. He figured at least one of those people should've been able to help him. But apparently, no one had a clue about the race. What on Earth was going on? He was hoped this wasn't turning into another AI scenario.

Kazma shook his head. There was no way that could happen again. He didn't want to believe it could happen again. That was a truly terrible experience he hoped he wouldn't have to go through again. He decided it was best if he did this on his own instead of asking people who didn't have a clue.

He was just about to go look for the she-bunny himself when another e-mail popped up:

_**I know Usagi.**_

This was a relief. Someone speaking plain Japanese. And they knew Usagi. That meant they most likely knew where she was. Perfect.

The avatar suddenly appeared in front of King Kazma. It was a little white fox with an red bandana and five stubby, little tails. Its eyes were blue and playful. "I'm Kei*," she said.

"Kei?" The fox nodded. "Are we talking about the same Usagi?"

"Tan girl wearing a yellow party yukata, yellow cap, droopy bunny ears, pink rabbit nose, impassive gray stare?" The rabbit nodded. "Yep, I know her. But I have to wonder why the legendary _King Kazma _is so interested in her."

"Can you take me to her?" he asked. "I need to speak with her."

"What'd she do that _the_ King Kazma is asking for an audience with her?"

King Kazma glared at the little fox. She gave him a mischievous leer. "You're mocking me, aren't you?"

"Maybe." Kazma didn't like that answer. It sounded like Kei wasn't as enthused to meet him as she made out. He never met anyone on OZ who didn't like him (besides Love Machine), and he wasn't sure if he should trust this fox. Then again, how else was he going to find Usagi? By looking blindly through the infinite universe of OZ? He was good, but he wasn't _that_ good. "Now do you want to see Usagi, or not?" King Kazma gave a curt nod. "Follow me then."

Kei began jumping from platform to platform before flying off with Kazma in her wake. "Where are you taking me?" he asked.

"The maintenance area," she answered. "Nobody but hired employees that run maintenance checks for OZ itself is already in the area, but as long as you're with me, I'm sure you'll be fine. Not even someone as powerful as you is allowed in without assistance. Since the incident with that AI, we've decided not to take anymore risks. OZ has taken extra precautions and hired a new form of 'security' to prevent anymore hackers from wrecking the mainframe, and to kill off any viruses that enter the system."

"What about John and Yoko?" Kazma asked. "Aren't they the 'Guardian Angels of OZ'?"

Kei snickered. "That's what most people thought and still think nowadays, but look at how much help they were when Love Machine attacked us. Yes, John and Yoko were created to protect the citizens of OZ, like when they assisted that Natsuki girl three years ago, but other than that, they don't do much but monitor what the 'civilians' are doing. This new form of security is used to protect the main core of OZ, which not only protects everyone's accounts and all the info downloaded into the OZ mainframe, but it also protects the world and prevents events like that AI situation three years ago from happening again. As far as we're concerned, those whales are just figureheads."

"How do you know all of this?"

"I'm afraid that's confidential, _King Kazma_."

Kazma rolled his eyes. He wondered why she felt the need to be sarcastic. The name Kei didn't really suit the fox.

"Here we are!" King Kazma didn't realize they had stopped until he saw that they were in a completely abandoned area. There were no other avatars in sight. "We're past the restricted area," Kei informed him.

"So where's this new form of security you were talking a—" King Kazma quickly stopped his question to avoid an arrow that was shot at him. "What the—!

"No profanity is allowed on OZ," a voice bubble appeared. Kazuma turned to see the she-bunny on a higher platform above him pointing a bow and arrow at him, ready to shoot. The impassive look he first saw on her face was now cold and determined. "And no trespassers are allowed in this area."

"What the **** are you doing!"

"My job." She pulled back the arrow. King Kazma's eyes were wide. First the scythe, now the bow and arrow; who was this girl?

Usagi shot another arrow, which destroyed the platform the white rabbit was standing on. He fell until he landed on another platform. Kazma groaned as he tried to sit up. Usagi suddenly jumped onto his platform. Her bow transformed back into her dragon scythe. The curved blade was behind his neck. A huge exclamation point appeared over his blonde head, but there was still no fear in his eyes.

"Calm down, Usagi," Kei said. She was watching the scene from afar. She decided to stop Usagi before she got carried away. She jumped onto the platform they were sharing in front of the scythe wielding she-bunny. "You know this is a no fighting zone. And besides, I brought him here."

A huge question mark appeared above the she-bunny's head. Usagi pulled the blade away from Kazma's neck and it vanished into her sleeve.

Kazma stood up and rubbed the back of his neck. He glared at the fox. "Why the **** didn't you stop her earlier!"

Kei gave him another shrewd smile. "It was very entertaining. And you really need to control your language online." A ticked-off mark formed on his temple. This was one sadistic fox. "Besides, I knew she wasn't going to kill you. You're _King Kazma_." He could hint the sarcasm in her speech bubble. His name was in italics every time she said it.

"How do you know I wasn't going to kill him?" Usagi asked. "It's my job to keep trespassers out of this area, dead or alive. Why'd you even bring him here?"

"He wanted to know where you were. I figured it was important since _King Kazma_ himself wanted to talk to you."

"Please stop saying my name like that," he said.

"Like what?"

He was so close to straggling that little fox, it was painful. Instead, he walked up to Usagi. "It's true. I did ask her to take me to you. I wanted to talk to you."

Usagi crossed her arms. "Hurry up. I can't be wasting my time on you when I have a job." This was the first time she talked to him. He wondered what her voice sounded like; not all too pleasant, he bet.

"Since when do you have a job?"

"I've had it for a while."

He figured a while meant a long time. No wonder he didn't hear about her. She was a fierce martial artist, but if she had a job this whole time…

"Why'd you challenge me if you have such an important job?"

"It's not like I work here 24/7. There are millions of people who do everything they can to keep OZ from going into to complete chaos like it did three years ago. The people who run security checks take shifts, much like the people who run maintenance." Usagi froze for a moment. She took out her scythe again and pointed it at King Kazma. "This information is strictly confidential. If you tell anyone about this, I won't hesitate to eliminate your account on OZ forever." Kazma nodded. There was no fear in his eyes. He knew it wasn't any of his business, but it wasn't like he asked. Usagi put away her scythe. "Now, what is it that you need—no wait! Let me guess." Usagi put one hand on her hip. "You want a rematch."

"So you did leave your post the other day," Kei said.

Usagi glared at the fox. "I did not. I didn't have to work that day. Aren't you supposed to be in maintenance right now?"

"I think I deserve one," Kazma intervened. "It wasn't much of a fair fight."

"And why's that?"

"I was distracted." After he read the words that formed into his speech bubble, he realized how ridiculous and immature he sounded, even though it was the truth. He could see Usagi thought the same, even though her glare was as impassive as ever. Kei sat aside and they both waited to see Usagi's reaction.

A digital puff blew out of her lips. "Couldn't you come up with a better excuse?"

"It's not an excuse. It's the truth."

"Really." Usagi purposely put it as a statement. "I'm sorry, but I can't. I still have a job to do and much time to make up for."

"Oh, come on, Usagi. Stop being such a stick in the mud!" Kei landed on her shoulder. "You can have someone else take your shift!"

Usagi glared at the fox. "No, I can't."

"I'll do it!"

"You work in the maintenance department, Kei," she reminded her. "In fact, aren't you supposed to be there right now?"

The fox stuck out its tongue. Kazma wondered how she was able to do that in the virtual world. "Well, why are you so hesitant to accept his challenge? You seemed to be very eager before."

That was true. Usagi seemed different from the last time they met. She didn't talk, but mostly because she didn't need to; the yearning of competition was evident in her pale eyes. And she didn't hesitate to say those awful things about him, either. Now, she was uptight and strict, all work and no play. It was like she went through some transformation overnight. Why was she so eager to slander and beat him before? What changed? Did she not like him or something? If that was true, that made two people now.

"Well, if you won't accept my challenge, can you at least answer my question?"

A question mark reappeared over her head. "What is it?"

"Before I came here, I began asking around for you, and then Kei showed up. But before that, no one had any idea what I was talking about. No one knows who you are or recalls the race we had. Usually, news like the race would be across the world by now."

"Don't act all high and mighty just because you're King Kazma," Usagi said. "You should feel grateful that nobody remembers your defeat."

Kazma glared at her. "You know what I mean. Nobody remembers _anything_. It's as if it never happened, or their memories were erased or something."

Another digital puff came out of her mouth. "That's ridiculous."

"Actually, that's a pretty precise answer," Kei said.

"What?" Kazma said.

Usagi glared at the fox. "_Shut up, Kei_. That is _strictly_ confidential."

"I don't really care about what she's talking about. I just want to know why everyone's forgotten."

Usagi crossed her arms again. "Well, I have no clue. I'm just security. I don't know anything about what they do in maintenance... at least, not anymore." Usagi stood frozen for a moment. King Kazma stared into her eyes. They were stoic to the point that they were frozen. Kazma waved a hand in front of her face. That wasn't a very affective move.

"Oh dear," Kei said. "She must be busy."

"Doing what?"

Suddenly, Usagi was put back in motion. "I'm sorry, but I have to leave. I need to get back to work."

"What's going on?"

"That's confidential." Usagi took out her scythe once again. "You better get out of here. And don't come back." Her stern glare was now pointed at the fox. "Make sure he gets out of here and you go back to work." She took off in a flash.

"She can be a real hard-***, can't she?" Kei asked.

"Didn't you just tell me to watch my language?"

Kei just gave him a coy grin. "I think it's about time I go back to work. I'm sure you know your way out. Once I'm gone, you're on your own, so you better get out of here."

Kazma nodded curtly. "Thanks for your help, Kei."

"No prob. I hope I get the pleasure of meeting you again, _King Kazma_."

Kazma flew out of the restricted area before he did anything he would regret. As soon as he was gone, Kei disappeared.

**O.O**

The gentleman closed his laptop gently, a content smile on his face. These two characters were interesting. He was always enthralled by the renowned King Kazma, and then he discovered Usagi, the talented she-bunny, and the King claimed she challenged him a few days ago even though no else remembers. But he knew exactly what was going, and so did Usagi. He wondered what was in store for these two.

Meanwhile, a young woman walked into the room. "Sir, you have a meeting in the morning."

"Yes, yes, thank you, Kiko. You may go home, now."

The young woman bowed before leaving his office.

The young man took off his glasses and sighed. It had been a long day and he was up late again. He needed to break this nocturnal schedule. A white Shiba Inu sat in an ottoman at the side of the room. When her owner stood from his desk, her ears perked up and her tail wagged in anticipation. "Let's retire for the night, Kei." The dog barked before following the man out the door.

* * *

><p>A week had passed since he last encounter with Usagi. No one ever mentioned anything about the race, and he almost forgot about it himself. Usagi was probably right; he should've been grateful that no one remembered his defeat, but he had an uncanny feeling about this. Even in defeat, King Kazma wasn't a sore loser. But that defeat did leave a big grudge. Usagi continued to ignore his messages, and since she wouldn't accept his challenge, he figured that match was just a one time thing. So he decided to let her work and proceed with his normal life on OZ.<p>

However, everything didn't exactly return to normal. Kei still bothered him from time to time. Ever since their first encounter, the little vixen became attached to him. Even though she also worked for OZ, it seemed like most of her time was spent following the rabbit around to fighting events. Even when King Kazma wasn't roaming the world of OZ, Kei liked to talk to him, especially about Usagi, asking questions that were mostly about their relationship, even though they had none. Something about this Kei character just felt really unruly. Kazuma wasn't sure he should continue to see let alone talk to her anymore. What if Kei was really a pedophile or something? Then again, since when are pedophiles interested in other peoples' relationships? Kazuma tried not to think about that and just went along with hanging out with Kei. After all, communication is the number one resource in OZ.

And then there was Yuri.

Since she had to walk a far distance to get to the house, they agreed to meet three times a week. The first week was okay, besides the several interruptions from his mother. Kiyomi still liked teasing him about Yuri and egging him on to actually get to know her. It was awkward for Kazuma; this was probably the most difficult task he had in years. He never confronted anyone on their lives, their interests, anything for that matter. That wasn't to say he wasn't interested in Yuri, but she wasn't making this easy for him. The first week they'd been working together and Kazuma still barely knew anything about her besides the fact that she _really_ needed new glasses and a new tire for her bike. Maybe starting this friendship thing was a hopeless effort.

But then came the day when Chi interfered.

"Kazuma, dear," Kiyomi said to her son. "I need to go to the market today, and I need someone to watch Chiyo for me."

Kazuma stopped eating his cereal. He knew where she was going with this. "Mom, no. Yuri's coming over today. We have to work, and we can't have any distractions."

"I know, I know. You've been working really hard these past few days, but Chiyo's been feeling left out." Kazuma almost rolled his eyes, but he didn't want to get chastised by his mother. Why would Chiyo feel left out? She was always in her little toddler world, oblivious of the harsh reality. Sure, she was clingy to him, but she could always find other ways to have fun. "I'd ask Uncle Mansuku or Aunt Mariko to watch her, but she only wants to be with her older brother."

Kazuma sighed. There was no point denying his mother. She would just make him do it anyway. And Kazuma knew Aunt Mariko and Uncle Mansuku couldn't handle a turbo toddler like Chiyo. "Fine. I'll watch her while we work."

"It's settled then! Chiyo's still asleep so make sure she gets something to eat." She kissed her son's cheek before running out the door.

As soon as he was done with his breakfast, Kazuma heard crying echoing through the hallway. Chiyo was awake. Kazuma put his bowl in the sink before attending to his sister. "I'm here. I'm here," he said as soon as he was in her room. The crying ceased when the baby girl heard her older brother's voice. She giggled and smiled a toothy smile when he leaned over the crib. "Mom went to the market," Kazuma told her, "so you're mine for the majority of the day."

"Kazmaaaa!" Chiyo waved her arms up at him. "Up! Up!"

Kazuma did so and then he blew a raspberry in her belly, causing her to be in a fit of giggles. He smiled in satisfaction. "Let's get you changed."

After Kazuma changed his sister, he began gathering her breakfast. As he did, he decided to lay down a few rules for Chiyo for when Yuri arrived. Since he was going to have to watch his sister while they did their homework, he wanted her to behave. Even though she was only two, she could still understand most of the things that came out of his mouth, but she usually did the opposite of what he said. And she usually made him look bad. He definitely didn't want to look bad in front of Yuri—not that he cared! But since she was a guest, he didn't want to leave a bad impression on her. And since she'd been coming to the manor, Yuri never had the chance to meet Chiyo. He didn't want her distracting them while they were working, so his mom usually kept her occupied and she nearly forgot that her older brother was missing most of the day.

"Okay, Chi," he said. He handed her a sippy cup filled with juice. "Someone's going to be coming over and helping me with my homework, so don't do anything distracting." He grabbed some baby food out of the fridge. "No grabbing things from the table _or_ drooling on the table." He took out a scoop of rice from the rice cooker and started making rice balls. "Stay in your carrier and _do not run off_." He pointed a spoon at his sister. Chiyo burped and began laughing again. "I mean it, Chi. Don't. Running off is a _no-no_."

"No-no," she repeated.

"Good." He began spooning the pears into her mouth. "If only you listened to Mom and Dad."

Once he was done feeding his sister, Kazuma cleaned her off and began getting ready for Yuri's arrival. The white-haired girl usually arrived early in the day, probably for a head start because she had to walk so far to get to the Jinnouchi manor. At least she was getting exercise.

Kazuma went to welcome Yuri like he did everyday, Chiyo in one hand and her carrier in the other. As they waited, Chiyo quickly became bored. She began looking for something to entertain her when she saw Kazuma's hair. She clung to his red wife beater as she climbed up to his head and tried to pull his long ebony bangs. Once she got a strand, she yanked it mercilessly from his head. "Ow! Chi, stop it! No pulling my hair, either!" The toddler just laughed at her brother's pain.

"Now there's something you don't see everyday." Kazuma turned away from his sister to see Yuri smiling coyly at him. Her arms were crossed. He didn't even notice her approaching the house. "Kazuma with a baby. That's so adorable."

Kazuma frowned at her. "Shut up." Her smile just grew and a hand went to her cheek as she shook her head.

Chiyo watched this girl with interest. She'd never seen her around the house before and she didn't like how she was talking to her brother. She didn't like it when guests came to the Jinnouchi manor even though they rarely had any. When Yuri's gaze shifted to her, the little girl shied away into her brother's shoulder in an attempt to make this strange girl go away. However, this only seemed to attract Yuri's interest. She approached the girl and leaned forward. Chiyo looked back to see if she was still there. She quickly turned away when she saw her face.

"I'm guessing this little cutie is Chiyo." The little girl looked up again when she heard her name. Yuri gave her a generous smile. "Hi, Chiyo. I'm Yuri." She held out her hand for the little girl to take. Chiyo hesitated and looked up at her brother. He nodded her at, telling her Yuri was a friend. She took Yuri's pinky and they shook. Yuri took her pinky back and ruffled Chiyo's soft hair, making her giggle. "You're so cute, Chi. Can I call you Chi?"

"Chi! Chi!" the little girl cried.

"Chi it is, then."

Kazuma was shocked at how fast his little sister became accustomed to this stranger. Yuri wasn't a stranger to him anymore, but he was slowly becoming adjusted to this lying game they'd been playing. Chiyo was a different story. She never liked associating with strangers. Whenever someone knew entered their home, she'd try to hide away from them or cry whenever she was around them. But her reaction to Yuri was totally different. She didn't even cry. Yuri just took the natural approach and Chiyo quickly warmed up to the older girl. It was like magic.

Noticing that they were wasting precious studying time, Kazuma decided to interrupt this precious moment. "Come on."

Yuri ruffled Chiyo's head one more time before following the tan boy. When they were in the living room, Yuri noticed the rice balls lying on a platter on the table. "What's this?"

"It's a snack for us," he answered. "My mom's not here, so I have to watch my sister while we work."

"So you made snacks for us while she's gone."

Kazuma nodded before setting his sister down in her carrier. "Let's get started." Chiyo suddenly began to whine. "Oh no, Chiyo. Not now. We haven't even started yet." Kazuma picked up his sister. "What is it?"

"I don't think she wants to be ignored," Yuri said.

"Well, I can't work if she's in my lap. It's too distracting."

"Here, let me." Yuri held her arms out to take Chiyo from him. Kazuma reluctantly gave her away. Once the squirming girl was in her lap, Yuri ran her hand through her hair gingerly. Chiyo immediately calmed down and became her giggling self again. "There. Is that better?" Chi looked up at Yuri and smiled. "Now let's get started. What does the next problem say?"

As they worked, Kazuma had his eyes mostly on Yuri than on his homework. He watched in amazement as she interacted with Chiyo and did her homework blindly at the same time. Her work was neat and Chiyo was satisfied. For a quick moment, Yuri stopped to play with her hair again, which made Chiyo happier. When she became hungry, Yuri started sharing pieces of the rice ball she was snacking on with her. The toddler soon tired out from all the fun and fell asleep in her lap. Yuri gently picked up the girl and put her in her carrier. "Wow, she's a handful," she gasped out.

"Yeah. She's a ball of fire. But sometimes she can be a pain."

"Well, I think it's sweet that your sister loves you so much." Kazuma shrugged. "You love her, too."

"Of course I do." Nobody said anything after that. Without Chiyo's constant jabbering and squeals of excitement, it became as awkwardly quiet as it usually was. Kazuma suddenly missed the background noise. To break the silence, Kazuma cleared his throat and asked, "So, um, do _you_ have any siblings?"

"No," Yuri immediately answered. "I'm an only child."

"Really? That actually sounds pretty cool."

"Trust me, you're really lucky to have Chiyo. It gets lonely being an only child."

"Are your parents real busy or something?"

Yuri scribbled down a few notes before answering, "My mom's a dancer, and my dad owns a dojo and teaches Shaolin Kung fu."

Kazuma's eyes lit up. "You're dad's a Shaolin Kung fu master?" That explained a lot.

"Yep. What's the next problem?"

"Oh, um, there's a chart." Yuri swore. "We can just skip that part. You can do it when you get your glasses fixed." Yuri didn't reply. "So, um, do you think I can, um, come see it?"

Yuri's head immediately flew up and met his eyes. "What?"

"Do you think I can visit the dojo sometime? I mean, is your dad busy or something?"

Yuri just stared at him with what seemed like shock. The tension in the room suddenly began to grow again and the only sound in the room heard was the soft snores coming from Chiyo.

Suddenly, Kiyomi came into the room and broke the tension. "Hey, you kids. How's it going?"

Yuri broke out of her stupor and turned to the older woman with a plastic smile. "It's going great!" she answered. Kazuma stared at her incredulously.

"I hope Chiyo didn't give you guys any trouble."

"She was an angel. She's the sweetest little girl."

Kiyomi smiled. "I'm glad you had fun." When she noticed her son wasn't saying anything, she turned to see him looking at Yuri in a daze. "Kazuma, what's wrong?"

"Huh?" He shook his head. "Oh, um, it's nothing." He looked away shyly.

Kiyomi's eyes blinked in confusion. "Alright… so are you guys taking a break?"

Yuri closed her book. "Actually, we're pretty much done here, so I think I'm just going to leave." She quickly packed up all of her things as fast as she could, practically stuffing everything in a disorganized fashion. "I'll see you… sometime this week. Bye." Yuri didn't bother to look at Kazuma as she sped out of the room.

Kiyomi looked at her son. "Does she know where the front entrance is?"

Kazuma sighed. He had no idea what had gotten into Yuri after he asked that question. Did he offend her by asking out of curiosity? He didn't know, and he doubted Yuri would tell him. In fact, he doubted he would see her at all this week.

Instead of answering his mom's question, he got up from his spot and left her, his sister, and his homework in the room to return to his own. He knew he shouldn't have tried this social thing. He was never any good at it.

* * *

><p><strong>Kei - respectful. She didn't really show any respect to King Kazma.<strong>

**I know the no swearing angle is kind of lame, but OZ is also a kid friendly place. You never know who you're talking to on the Web.**

Thanks to** demonwolfkid **and **EX33** for your reviews. You guys are awesome!

_**R&R!**_


	4. Chapter 4

**Hope you enjoy this chapter. I worked real hard on it. I'm not too good at writing fighting scenes, so I worked extra trying to make everything sound eligible. If someone could help me, I'll consider rewriting this chapter.**

**Enjoy the fourth installment of **_**Hikikomori**_**!**

* * *

><p>Yuri never felt so glad to get home early. When Kazuma suddenly started asking those questions about her family—she just had to leave. She shouldn't have been so surprised. It wasn't the first time anyone asked her such normal questions like that. But hearing it from Kazuma was such a shocker. He seemed too eager about her personal life. He had no idea what was going on—no one did, and she wanted to keep it that way. She knew what he was doing. Even though this arrangement was only temporary, Kazuma was making an effort to be social. He was trying to make friends with her. She knew where he was coming from, but Yuri didn't want to do anything she'd regret. She didn't want to hurt him.<p>

So much happened to her those three years ago. That was when Reality started being such a bitch to her. She lost her parents and life was never the same after that. Then she became a _hikikomori_. It was for the best for everyone if they just didn't get too involved with her, especially the Jinnouchi clan.

Yuri ran as soon as she left the house and she didn't stop until she was home. She didn't bother to welcome her parents when she ran through the door. She ran into her room and collapsed on her knees in front of her laptop. She rested a hand on her chest as she tried retain a normal heartbeat. She looked at the picture of her parents staring at her with their compassionate smiles. "I know you guys aren't happy with what I did. I ran away. I ran _the hell_ away, like a coward. I know I shouldn't have done that, but I didn't know what else to do. I…" The smiles on her parents' faces suddenly made her feel a lot better. "I guess I shouldn't worry about it. I can explain tomorrow, or some time in the future." She kissed the picture. "Thanks you guys. You always know what to say."

The sudden vibration of her phone in her pocket made her jump. She looked to see she received a text message. It was from Kazuma. Oh boy.

_**You alright?**_

She quickly replied:

_**I'm fine.**_

Just as she turned on her laptop, Kazuma responded:

_**You didn't seem fine when you left. What was that about?**_

Before she could respond he sent another message:

_**It's okay if you don't want to talk about it. It's none of my business. I'm sorry if I made you upset.**_

Yuri grinned a bit. So he did understand he made a small mistake. She was grateful for the apology, but she didn't think she deserved it after the way she just stormed out of the manor. She felt the need to apologize for her rude actions but instead gave him a different response:

_**Thanks for understanding. I'll see you on Friday.**_

Once she was OZ, Kazuma texted her again:

_**Yeah, bye.**_

After that text, she wasn't in the mood to do anything on OZ anymore. Once again, Kazuma had managed to drain the life out of her. And if OZ couldn't help, then she had no choice but to go to sleep, and Yuri knew her parents thought the same. They didn't approve of her staying up all night long, anyway. And her inner clock was slowly turning her into more than a _hikikomori_. She glanced at the clock. 12:09. That would be the earliest she ever went to bed since her parents were gone.

When she looked back at the screen, she realized she still had another job. She quickly signed onto to OZ and sent a message to one of her coworkers:

_**Hey, can you have someone cover for me? Something happened at my second job and I think I'm going to turn in early for the night.**_

A minute after she sent the message, a giant thumbs-up came up on the screen with a private message on the bottom:

_**You can count on me!**_

Yuri shook her head. How could this person have so much energy online during this time of day?—usually other people would ask the same about her, but she was too tired to care. She pushed the power button, not bothering to sign off of OZ before turning in for the night. Once she was under the covers, she struggled to get to sleep. The dark hair boy wouldn't leave her mind…

* * *

><p>King Kazma sat in the crowd of very enthusiastic martial art fans. The crowd was literally going wild as the competitors went at each other neck-and-neck. He had to admit this was the most interesting fight he'd seen in a while. Tai Kwan Doe mixed with another foreign fighting style that he was very unfamiliar with. He needed to start looking this stuff up; it was really intriguing. And what was more interesting was the reactions from the spectators—too bad the profanity function was blocked on this site. They really went all out on this fight, even though Kazma didn't see why they were so excited. And neither did Kei, apparently.<p>

"I don't get why these people are so worked up about martial arts," the fox said.

"What do you mean?" King Kazma asked her incredulously.

"Well, to me it's just two brutes fighting each other for a piece of material that isn't even palpable."

"Well then you must be blind." The rabbit closed his eyes as he calmly explained. "The way of martial arts isn't supposed to be used or seen as anything violent. It's like a sport."

"How are you going to compare martial arts to sports and say it's not violent? Have you ever seen hockey?"

"Alright, alright. Let me rephrase that. Martial arts is a way of self-defense. It's not supposed to used for violence. However, to people like me and like them"—he gestured to the fighters below—"it's a sport as well as a way of life."

"I think you people depend on OZ for too much. Business, shopping, and now martial arts—to me, this is just one big video game."

Kazma sighed and leaned back in his seat with his feet propped up and his arms behind his head. He closed his eyes to get more relaxed. "I give up. You're just as obtuse as everyone else. You treat this like a simple game, but Kung fu's helped me in more ways than you can imagine."

"Okay… how?"

He opened one eye. "What?"

"Give me an example, and maybe I'll take this Kung fu stuff a little more seriously."

Kazma considered this for a moment before closing his eyes again. He didn't think it was a good idea to tell her any of his personal business, and he really didn't think he could change her opinion about martial arts just by giving her an example of how it changed his life. But it was worth a shot.

"I used to get bullied a lot at school. I started taking Shaolin Kung fu lessons from my grandfather; we'd work together on OZ, and from then on I incorporated my fighting skills with my gaming skills. I began entering tournaments and winning, and then everyone in OZ started respecting me."

"What about in real life?"

He shrugged. "It doesn't matter."

Kei smiled. "Then I guess it didn't change that much, huh?"

"It's a matter of caring what people think of you, and I don't really care."

"Really." It wasn't a question.

"Nope."

Kei shook her head. "I kind of see your point. But, sadly, my opinion hasn't changed."

Kazma blew his bangs out of his face. "I knew it was pointless explaining to you. I don't understand why you're here if you don't even like martial arts."

"I never said I didn't like it. I just said I don't understand the objective of playing online. On the contrary, it's very entertaining."

King Kazma rolled his eyes. "Of course."

A few minutes into the event, a winner was finally declared. It was the Tai Kwan Doe master. Everyone cheered with just as much fervor as they did during the match. Kazma stood and left the stadium when the match was over. Kei followed him with a skip in her step.

"You're not going to watch the next match?"

"It's getting late," he answered shortly.

"You going to look for your little Lolita bunny?"

Kazma glared at the sly fox. "No. I haven't seen Usagi since the day she almost killed me, and I doubt I'll see her again. She made it clear that she doesn't like me nor does she want to be near me at all, so who's to say we'll ever meet again in the future? Why do you always imply that we have a thing going on, anyway?"

"Well, she's part rabbit, and…"

"Forget I asked. And what about you? How'd you meet Usagi?"

"Oh, well, long story. I'm sure you wouldn't enjoy it, _King Kazma_."

Kazma didn't bother asking. Her answer was just another way of saying she was hiding something that was strictly confidential, just like everything else was. If she had something to hide, why did she make it so blatantly obvious? And then there was that sarcasm Kei had whenever she said his name. Why was that?

"Kei, why do you always do that?"

"Do what?" she asked as she smiled innocently at him.

"Use my name like that? Do you dislike me?"

"Why would you say that?" Kazma didn't respond. "I'm only teasing, Kazma. It's nothing personal. I just think it's funny that so many people hold you in such high regard. Everyone thinks you run this place or something, like you're an actual king, but when in reality you don't do a thing."

"Well, I did more than anyone else when Love Machine took over."

Kei laughed. "I guess you're right, but that's not really the point. Your job is technically done, Kazma. Love Machine is gone, and I'm sure the US Army has learned from their terribly stupid mistake. I know these people depend on you for protection, but OZ has found a new and sufficient system to protect the accounts saved and throughput transferred into the mainframe. It doesn't matter if you're wearing that belt. You're still just a… No, wait. You're more of a… figurehead, like John and Yoko."

Kazma was surprised at how serious Kei sounded. She had a point. As far as the OZ system was aware, he was a regular account that needed just as much protection as everybody else, yet there were so many other account users that still depended on him for protection. They had no clue of what was really going on. Not like he and Usagi and Kei did.

"Wait, did you just call me a whale?"

"I tells it like I sees it." The fox scratched the back of her ear. "Well, I think it's about time I leave before I reveal more confidential information."

"What more can you tell me?"

Kei grinned mischievously. "You have no idea."

King Kazma didn't look back as the fox disappeared. He pondered on the things that she told him a moment ago. This new form of security was the real base of protection, not him. He didn't think of himself as that much of a big shot; everybody just kept insinuating it. And he didn't hate the attention. But less was more and more was less. And the more he thought about it, the more truthful it was. He was King Kazma. He had soldiers and warriors and servants and other people doing this work for him. And he didn't know as much about OZ as he thought he did.

Kazma didn't like this feeling. Since when was the society of OZ one based on hierarchy? He didn't like it. He didn't want to sit and do nothing. He did plenty of that these past three years. He wanted to be a part of this system. He was no longer going to stand on the sidelines.

Soon, his plan would go into action, but for now, King Kazma would retire for the night.

**...**

Kazuma yawned as he closed his laptop. It had been a long day. He did his homework, he had to watch his sister, and then he sent Yuri running home. OZ usually helped him vent as well as gave him the satisfaction of the typical video game, but tonight, he vented his way through and made an awesome discovery.

As he got ready for bed, Kazuma's mind began to wander back to Yuri. He wondered what made her so upset. Her family? Mostly likely. She made it clear in her text messages that she didn't want to talk about it, but that didn't change the fact that he was still curious. All he wanted to do was visit her father's dojo. He wondered what the downside of that was.

He scoffed to himself. He was acting completely selfish and inconsiderate. Yuri was working so hard for him, and he didn't want to do anything that could jeopardize this thing that they had going on. And if he was going to try to be friends with Yuri, he was going to do everything in his power to not offend, embarrass, or do anything else that could drive her away.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Kazuma!" Mansuke hugged his oldest grandson with paternal affection. "It's great to see ya! How've you been doing?"<p>

"I'm fine, Sensei." When released from the hug, Kazuma bowed in front of his grandfather. Mansuke arrived early that Friday morning. He didn't know why he had come so early when the family reunion wasn't until the week before Granny's birthday, but he was glad to see his beloved Kung fu master.

"Hey, Dad. It's great to see you." Kiyomi went over to welcome her father. "You're here early. Nobody else is arriving until later July. Has something happened?"

"Nothing to worry about, Kiyomi. Everything's fine." Then he glanced at the little girl in his daughter's arms. "Chiyo! It's great to see you!" The little girl waved her arms at her grandfather and he took her away from her mother. "Wow, you've gotten bigger since the last time I saw you! You're getting to be a big girl!"

"Grampa! Grampa!" Chiyo cheered and she clapped her hands. Chiyo loved Mansuke just as any other grandchildren loved their grandparents. Since she was the baby of the family, she was always spoiled rotten. It wasn't any different from every other day, Kazuma thought, but grandparents always made the youngest in the family feel extra special. Kazuma was never jealous, though. He respected his master too much.

"I have a special treat for you all! It's in the van!" Mansuke set Chiyo on her feet before running outside. He came back with three crates. "We had a surplus of these little guys at the fish market!"

"Let me guess," Kazuma. "It's…"

"Squid!"

"And…"

"More squid!" Chiyo shouted.

"And for desert…" Kiyomi said. The last crate was filled with a squirming pile of squid. "Honestly, Dad, we never run out of this stuff."

"Isn't that great! Unfortunately, it doesn't sell as much, so I decided to bring it here! I know how much you guys love squid!" Kiyomi and Kazuma exchanged the same exasperated glances. They couldn't disagree with Mansuke, but there was such a thing as too much squid.

"Squid! Squid!" Chiyo ran over to the crate and reached her hand inside. Kazuma picked her up before she could touch any of the aquatic invertebrates.

"See! Even little Chiyo can't get away from these little guys!"

"If you keep sending us squid, we'll have enough to last by the time Granny's birthday comes around. Probably even more than that." Kazuma could only consume so much squid.

"That's not going to happen because we're going to have octopus at the reunion!"

Kazuma and Kiyomi sweat-dropped. "Octopus?"

"Is that… squid?" Everyone turned to see Yuri at the entrance to the kitchen. She leaned over the crates and gazed at the squids oddly. She stuck her finger in the crate curiously, poking one of the squids. "They're so squishy."

"Oh, Yuri," Kiyomi said. "We didn't know you were already here. I'm sorry we didn't welcome you in."

"It's okay. Miss Mariko let me in."

Suddenly, Chiyo began to cry out for Yuri. "Yuwi! Yuwi!"

"Hey, Chi. I'm glad to see you, too." Kazuma allowed her to take his little sister out of his hands. Chiyo put her arms around her neck and laid her head on her shoulder.

Mansuke gapped at this scene. "Amazing. I've never seen Chiyo warm up to anyone outside the family. You must be a special little lady." His eyes narrowed for a bit, making Yuri uncomfortable. "You look familiar."

"This is my classmate, Yuri," Kazuma explained. "She's helping me out with homework."

"Yuri, huh?"

Yuri bowed her head down since Chiyo was still in her arms. "It's nice to meet you, sir."

Mansuke continued to stare at her for a while. For some reason, this girl seemed familiar to him. Seeing this, Yuri shrank back nervously. She didn't know what else to do. It wasn't until Mansuke suddenly started laughing when she became completely confused. "Oh, so you finally decided to bring a friend from school, huh, Kazuma?" Mansuke said to his grandson. He put an arm around his grandson's shoulders. "She's a real looker, isn't she? Good for you!"

Kazuma blushed profusely and backed away quickly. "No! It's nothing like that!"

"I don't know, Kazuma. It can quickly turn from classmates working on schoolwork to—"

"No it can't!"

"He's right, Kazuma," his mother added. "You two need to start hitting it off! How about you study in Kazuma's room this time?" She elbowed Yuri suggestively. "What do you say, Yuri? You wouldn't mind, would you?"

"Um…"

"No, Mom! Stop!"

Kiyomi laughed. "I'm only kidding, dear. Relax." When she sobered down, Kiyomi said, "You two go work. We'll leave you alone. Come on, Chiyo." When she tried to take the little girl from Yuri, she immediately began to whine. "I'm sorry, Chiyo, but the big kids have to work and they can't be distracted."

"Hey, Chiyo," Yuri said. "How about I get you when we take a break. We can play all the games you want. Pinky promise." She held out her pinky to take. Since Chiyo's fingers were tiny, she took Yuri's pinky in her hand.

"Pinky pwomise."

Once Chiyo was in her mother's arms, Yuri began following Kazuma out of the kitchen. "It was nice meeting you," she said to Mansuke before she left.

Mansuke stared after her as she followed after Kazuma. This Yuri girl just seemed very peculiar. He couldn't scratch this feeling that he had, which irritated him very much.

Kiyomi, who noticed her father's pensive stare, tapped his shoulder. "Dad, are you okay? You seem to be very interested in Yuri for some reason. Do you know her?"

"I don't know. She just seems so familiar, and I can't seem to shake this feeling…"

Meanwhile, as the two teens walked through the many halls of the manor, Kazuma began observing Yuri. She was acting normal, which made him afraid. Was Yuri still upset with him about what happened on Monday? It wasn't likely that she forgot something like that, and not knowing what she was thinking made him feel even more on edge. The smile on her face was not helping much, either.

"So, um, Yuri," he said. "Are you okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" she asked.

"If I said anything that might've offended you the other day…"

"The other day…?" Something clicked in her mind. "Oh, that? Nah, it wasn't you, Kazuma. Don't worry. I'm completely over it."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah." Yuri walked ahead of him before he could say anymore. She was dodging him. She wasn't very good at hiding things. It reminded him of a few people he knew on OZ.

The first few minutes of work, Kazuma continued to stare up at Yuri. She didn't notice at first, but when the next problem came around, she finally saw that Kazuma wasn't doing any work. He quickly went back to scribbling nonsense in his notebook as if he hadn't been staring at the white-haired girl for five minutes.

When their break came around, Yuri decided to ask, "Kazuma, is there something you need to tell me?"

"Why would you think that?"

"Well, you spent most of our work time just staring at me."

"I've been working."

Yuri rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

Kiyomi and Chiyo came into the room just in time. The older woman was carrying a tray of snacks. Chiyo clung to her dress as she walked beside her mother. "Are you guys taking a break?"

"Yep." Chiyo let go of her mother's dress and ran up to the older girl. Yuri swiftly caught her. "It's good to see you too, Chi." She began tickling the girl, forgetting that Kazuma was sitting across from her. Suddenly, Hayate ran in from the garden and barked. It sounded like he wanted to join in the fun. "Want to play outside with Hayate?" Chiyo nodded happily. Yuri looked to Kiyomi for approval. The older woman nodded. Yuri carried Chiyo outside so they could play with Hayate.

Kiyomi put a hand on her cheek as watched the three playing outside. "Isn't that sweet?" she said to her son. "I think Chiyo just made her first friend!"

Kazuma just shrugged as his mother left. He didn't really mind that Chiyo favored someone else. He was actually grateful to get more space away from his sister. Now that she clung to someone else, he could concentrate more on his Kung fu, OZ, and the summer work that their teacher assigned them. But it kind of annoyed him that Chiyo was completely ignoring him now. Not that he was jealous. He didn't blame Chiyo for attaching herself to someone else. Yuri was giving her tons of attention on the contrary when he used to give her close to none. Yuri even used the nickname he gave her, Chi. She was a natural with little kids even though she didn't have any siblings of her own. He had no right to feel jealous. But that wasn't what was bothering him.

If she was going to play with Chiyo, that was fine, but Kazuma hated when people lied to him. Yuri wasn't fine, and he was going to prove it, even if he was going to make himself look bad in front of Chiyo.

A sudden idea clicked in Kazuma's head.

At first, he began playing with a pencil. He twirled it around his fingers as he watched Yuri and Chiyo play with Hayate. Looking away for a brief moment, he began to position the point of his pencil. He bobbed it up and down until it finally flicked into the yard where it flew towards Yuri's head. Before the pencil could reach her head, Yuri's arm flew up and the pencil was caught between two fingers. Her back was still turned to him. Kazuma couldn't believe his eyes, but he tried to not to show it.

Yuri swiftly turned around. Her eyebrow was twitching and her lips curled into a pissed off frown. "What the hell were you trying to do?"

Instead of answering, Kazuma stood and went into the yard. He held his fists up and stood in a defensive stance. "What are you going to do about it?"

Yuri picked up Chiyo and had her sit on the veranda. Hayate jumped up on the spot next to her, sensing the tension between the two teens. Yuri got into position. "Fine, I'll play along. But you'll be sorry."

"We'll see."

Yuri made the first move. She lunged forward and aimed her foot towards his gut, but he easily caught it. "Nice try. Love Machine tried that on me three years ago." He pushed her back with the palm of his hand. She landed on her hands and flipped back into position. "Impressive."

"Thanks."

Kazuma went forward and attacked. Instead of blocking him, Yuri took his wrist and flipped him on his back. "Are you done playing around?" Yuri began walking away towards the house. Kazuma grimaced. This fight wasn't over yet. Kazuma got himself up from the ground and ran at Yuri. Before he could even touch her, she performed a back flip and, before she could prevent it, roundhouse kicked him in the face. "Oh my God…"

Kazuma rubbed his bruised eye. It was already throbbing. "What the hell was that for!"

"Kazuma!" Kiyomi and Mansuke were standing in the living room. Kiyomi looked mad rather than concerned seeing her son's black eye, and Mansuke was completely shocked. "What is going on here?"

"She kicked me in the face!"

"It's not my fault! You threw a pencil at me!"

"You _kicked_ me in the _face_!"

"What's your problem? I was just minding my own business, playing with Chiyo—you didn't have to do that you know!"

"You didn't have to kick me in the face!"

"That's enough! Both of you!" Kiyomi picked up Chiyo from her spot.

The little girl and her dog companion had been watching the whole scene and were deeply enthralled. Although Chiyo had no idea what was going on, she could sense that her brother wasn't getting along with Yuri. Hayate began whining when they started yelling at each other. Now that the adults were here, he ran off to venture and find people who weren't trying to beat the crap out of each other.

"I don't know why you're fighting, but I want it to stop. Kazuma, apologize to Yuri. And Yuri, I'd appreciate it if you helped Kazuma with his black eye."

Yuri bowed. "Yes, ma'am."

Kazuma got up from the ground and didn't bother to address him mom or his grandfather. He was too ashamed to look at him.

By the time they reached the bathroom, Kazuma moved away from Yuri and sat on the edge of the tub. Yuri went through the medicine cabinet blindly to look for something that could clean his eye. However, she had no idea what she was looking for.

"I could use a little help," Yuri said. "It's the least you could do."

Kazuma wordlessly went to the cabinet and took the cotton balls, the rubbing alcohol, and dressings for his face (if he needed it). He gave everything to Yuri before returning to the edge of the tub. Yuri dipped some alcohol on a cotton ball and gently dabbed it on Kazuma's swollen eye. He hissed in pain.

"Sorry," she said. "It's going to sting. I didn't mean to kick you in the face, and I told you you'd be sorry. But look on the bright side: your bangs cover up your black eye."

Kazuma sighed. "I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry."

Yuri stopped dabbing his eye. She was shocked by his sudden apology. "What were you thinking by doing that, anyway?"

"I don't know. I had a theory, but… And as soon as I saw Sensei's face…" Kazuma moved his bangs away to touch his swollen eye delicately.

Yuri couldn't help feel sorry for him. She didn't like giving pity and vice versa. Kazuma obviously held his grandfather in high regard. He must've been beyond embarrassed when he started acting so foolishly.

"I should apologize, too. I don't understand why you did it, but I guess I did make a big deal about the pencil thing."

Kazuma looked up at her with his good eye. "Yeah, no kidding. You kicked me in the face."

"I said I was sorry! What more can I do?"

Kazuma laughed. "Relax. I'm over it. You did have some great moves. Did you learn from your dad?"

Yuri tucked a hair behind her ear nervously. "Yeah. I also incorporated some moves from the dance lessons my mom used to give me. It's nothing."

"That's not nothing, Yuri. You've got raw talent. Your parents must've been a really good teachers." Yuri looked away from a moment. Kazuma, with his good eye, saw the sad smile on her face. "I'm sorry. I keep bringing up your parents. It obviously makes you upset."

"It's okay, Kazuma. I don't blame you if you're curious. Everyone is; it's only natural."

"But I don't want to do anything that'll upset you." He clenched his hands until he calmed down. "Look, I was hoping we could start over today. I know we're just doing this you-help-me-I-help-you thing, but… I don't want anything between us to be over just because we finished our homework. It wouldn't feel right. So… friends?" Kazuma took out his hand for her to shake.

Yuri took it. "Alright. Friends."

* * *

><p><strong>"In Between" by Linkin Park reminded me of the end of this chapter. If you listen to the lyrics, I'm sure you'd agree.<strong>

_**R&R!**_


	5. Chapter 5

For the first time since they met, King Kazma began looking for the Kei. Usually the fox wouldn't hesitate to come prancing around King Kazma's Home to bother him and cause mischief, and it usually annoyed him to no end. But this time, he desperately needed her help. Since she worked in the maintenance department and she practically knew everything about everything there was to know about OZ, he knew she was the only one who could help him at this moment. But for some reason, Kei didn't show up today. He waited a while, but before he knew it, it was already 1:00 AM. Waiting was futile now, so he decided to go out and find her himself before his time was up.

This search reminded him of the Usagi search he had before, but this time, he had a clearer picture in his mind about where he was going. He remembered the restricted area Kei took him when he was looking for the she-bunny. The area would most likely be secured by her, too, or maybe other "security avatars" (he didn't know what they were called) that were watching for interlopers or hackers. Beyond that was the mainframe where the maintenance staff was. Kei would be there, and if she wasn't, then he was practically screwed.

However, as he began his search, he couldn't remember _how_ to get there. He couldn't even recall what he was doing when she took him there. They were in the OZ Homepage one second, and then, after Kei explained the intricate functions of OZ, they were just… there. Was it some kind of trick or something? Like the one when no one remembered his epic fail in that race he had with Usagi. Good thing no one remembered, or was it? He didn't like when people pulled tricks on him. It was never funny, especially when they were dealing with King Kazma.

He went back to the stadium. Another match was going on, but he didn't give it a second glance. From there, he remembered Kei and him jumping on platforms, and then…

Before he knew it, King Kazma once again found himself in the ghostly vacant restricted area. It was just as he remembered it. At first, he didn't see anyone around. Then he spotted a figure in the distance. He thought it was another security avatar when he noticed it was a skeleton with a machete. Nothing looked good about that. It must've been a hacker. It was also looking around the area, possibly for any security avatars that were going to stop him. He soon floated away. A moment later, it flew back but its pace was quicker. It was coming towards King Kazma. The rabbit got ready to defend himself. Then he noticed the fear in the skeleton's eyes. It was running away from something, not attacking him. A few seconds later, three more avatars came around the corner. They each had star badge icons floating over their heads. Security avatars.

He flew back a bit to make sure they didn't see him. They were still coming towards him, but for some reason they suddenly stopped. Then he saw the speech bubbles. They were communicating with each other in other languages. They weren't talking to him, so he couldn't understand them. The puppy dressed like a samurai came to up to him. His Italian text translated into the original Japanese text:

"You're not allowed in this area, King Kazma. Leave now or your account will be eliminated forever."

Their ways seemed extreme, but King Kazma understood. They couldn't take any chances after what happened with Love Machine. But he needed to get to Kei.

"I'm not leaving. I need to get to the maintenance area. I'm looking for Kei."

The security avatars began to discuss among themselves again. This time, the German Doberman with the UZ said to him, "We hate to do this, King Kazma, but by order of the OZ Security Task Force, we're going to have to exterminate you."

He almost rolled his eyes. If these guys thought they could take him, then they obviously had no idea who they were dealing with.

"You'll have to catch me then."

King Kazma flew away from his pursuers and passed the skeleton as he did so. He looked back and saw that two of the three security avatar stopped to catch the skeleton. He didn't feel bad for it. That avatar was controlled by a hacker; he deserved to be arrested, on the contrary to him, who wanted nothing more than to talk a certain white five-tailed fox with a red bandana, and then he'd be on his way. The Italian samurai puppy cut the skeleton in half, and he dissipated into digital dust.

The white rabbit's pace quickened. His fate would be just the same if he couldn't get away.

King Kazma flew around a corner behind a cloud. Before he knew it, that cloud was decimated also. The German Doberman pointed his UZ at him. "What kind of weapon is that?"

"A specialized one," the dog answered. He shot at the white rabbit king again, and Kazma dodged it swiftly.

King Kazma reacted aiming his foot towards the Doberman's gut. He was pulled back by a rope swung by the third security guard, which was a cowboy. His face was black under his hat, as if it was a ninja incognito. The other two came around to slam into the rabbit. Instead, Kazma took the rope and swung the cowboy ninja into his comrades. Just as he was about to go off in search of Kei again, he was surrounded by a ring of more security avatars.

The one in the center—a Siberian tiger clashed in armor—came forth. "Why are you here, intruder?" he asked.

"I wasn't trying to intrude," King Kazma said. "I just wanted to speak with—"

"No one is allowed in this area. Even you, all of people, should abide by the rules, King Kazma."

"I wasn't trying to break any rules. If you'd just listen—"

"What is going on here?" King Kazma turned and saw the person he wanted to see the least. Usagi floated down with her scythe in hand. Irritation was written on her face. That was probably one of the few emotions he'd ever seen her express. The fox he had been looking for floated down next to her with the same coy smile on her cute, little, not-so-innocent face. How untimely.

"Well, well, well," Kei said. "If it isn't the renowned King Kazma himself. So, have you finally come here for your little bunny Lolita?"

Everyone in the circle suddenly began giggling, uttering very incoherent things amongst themselves. When Usagi shot them a look of murder, they immediately shut up and turned back to their rightful positions. "This is a serious matter, Kei," she said. "Try not to make it a joke."

"Sorry. I can't help myself sometimes."

The tiger bowed his head in front of Usagi. "Usagi, we caught this trespasser in the restricted area."

"I can see that, Luka. But the question is why hasn't he been terminated yet? In fact," she flew further towards King Kazma, "how were you able to come back? It's virtually impossible for anyone outside the OSTF sect to reenter this part of OZ."

"I honestly have no idea. I only came back to talk to Kei, nothing else."

"Really?" Kei floated over to the rabbit. "How sweet! I never thought I'd see the day _King Kazma_ would come for me!" When he saw the OZ-ecutives giggling again, he rolled his eyes. Apparently, they were aware of Kei's sarcasm, too. "Though, you are still in a curious predicament. There's a code that only a select few know about, and it's the only way to get back here. It's like… how do I put this?… Like entering a whole other realm."

"Kei, why must you insist on sharing everything with him?" A digital puff blew out of Usagi's mouth, showing that she was clearly not amused. "It doesn't matter. Since you've decided to come back, these secrets will die with you once I exterminate you myself." She held up her scythe.

"**** no!" King Kazma shouted. "Just let me talk to Kei. It's important. After that… maybe I'll leave."

"Maybe isn't an option. I told you the next time you come back here, your account would be permanently erased from the system."

"Just let me talk to her. Please."

Usagi floated silently towards Kazma. She stared him in the eye, and as he looked back, he couldn't tell if she was reading his mind, or if she was in another frozen stupor. "Fine," she finally said. "I'll give you a chance to explain yourself, but not just in front of Kei. I'm sure whatever you have to say to Kei can be shared with the rest of us."

King Kazma grimaced. He knew Usagi would pull a stunt like that on him. She just loved making everything a challenge for him.

"I want to join your association."

At once, everyone began mumbling amongst themselves again. What did he mean? King Kazma wanted to work with them? It was unbelievable. The tiger and Usagi exchanged glances. Kei looked very amused, as always. She wondered how this transaction would turn out.

"What do you mean 'join' by our association?" Usagi asked.

"I want to be a part of this OZ Security Task Force. I want to help protect OZ."

"We have many strict rules about who can and can't join," Luka informed. "One rule is anyone who hasn't had any experience working for OZ is not allowed to join."

"What?"

"Before OSTF was formed, everyone here has worked for OZ in some way or another."

"Mainly in the maintenance department," Usagi added. "When the OSTF system was installed, anyone willing to join had to take a special test. Certain skills are required for this job and anyone who is unqualified or unable to pass the test stays in their niche."

"So I can't join OSTF because you don't think I'm qualified?" King Kazma asked.

"No." For the first time, he saw a smirk crawl up on the she-bunny's face. "You can't join because you _are_ unqualified."

"Actually," Kei said, "he is qualified. There is another way to join the OSTF." Usagi glared at her. Kazma noticed this and smirked. She obviously didn't like it when Kei found a loophole, and for once he was grateful for it. Whenever it benefited the little vixen, she always found a way to make things work out (for who it was concerned didn't matter). "You can challenge one of the OZ-ecutives to a match in the arena. If they accept and you win, then you may join the OSTF."

"That's it?" King Kazma cracked his knuckles with a devious smirk on his face. "Sounds easy enough."

"But if you lose," Usagi said, "your account will be officially erased from the system."

Kazma looked to Kei to affirm if what Usagi had said was true. Kei's smile was enough to answer him. "Fine. I'll do whatever it takes."

He began to observe the circle of "OZ-ecutives". They were once again mumbling amongst themselves in foreign languages and trembling in fear of their king. He wasn't interested in them, though. He was more concentrated on the she-bunny in front of him. She still owed him that rematch he never received, and he doubted he'd be able to get another chance like this. Then there was also that tiger—what was his name again? He seemed like a worthy opponent. And Kei—was she even a part of the OSTF? He wouldn't know unless he asked. The little vixen was always willing to tell the truth.

"I choose Usagi."

Everyone stopped their mumbling. Giant exclamation points appeared above all icons.

"Commissioner Usagi is an excellent choice," the tiger said.

"Commissioner?"

Kei suddenly appeared next to him. "Did I forget to mention that Usagi is commissioner of the OSTF, which means she's one of the most powerful players on OZ?"

"No, I think you forgot that little detail," King Kazma hissed. That explained a lot. Only a truly powerful avatar like Usagi could qualify for something as highly ranked as the commissioner.

"Kind of wish you chose the Luka, didn't you?" Kei gestured her head towards the tiger.

"What's so special about Luka?"

"He's her partner, basically her second in command. He takes her place whenever she isn't available."

"When isn't she available?"

Kei didn't have an answer for him this time. "You still have a chance to change your mind."

"I'm not changing my mind, Kei. Commissioner or not, she's still just another opponent. I'm not losing my account to her, and I'm going to join the OSTF, even if it _does_ kill me."

"That's the spirit!"

Kazma didn't respond. He learned to tolerate Kei's crude humor.

The circle of OZ-ecutives began to disperse and they flew off, most likely to inform their other colleagues about the fight between their superior and one of the most powerful and renowned players on OZ. King Kazma and Usagi went to the arena and prepared for the upcoming match.

King Kazma stared ahead at his opponent as he tightened his gloves. Usagi had the same passive look on his face when they first met, but he could see more malice in it. Why was she so adamant to get rid of him? He didn't do anything to her, yet she went out of her way to avoid him or try to completely terminate him. Kei was no help.

"Remember, win or be exterminated."

"Can't you give me any useful advice?"

Kei stopped to think for a moment. "Well, I'm not allowed to say or do anything that could help you. You're on your own. But…" Kei jumped and floated up to Kazma's eye level. "No matter what, don't let your guard down. Usagi's more powerful than you think, and she's merciless. She'll do whatever it takes to win."

He nodded. He knew from experience. "I think I'll be okay. I'm not going to underestimate her again."

A large crowd began to form as they continued to ready themselves. They were all OZ-ecutives, and they were anticipating the spectacular event that was about to occur. Their precious leader versus the avatar who saved them from the AI that almost destroyed the world—this would be very entertaining, indeed. But most of them were wondering what would happen if Usagi lost. Would King Kazma gain her position? Would she lose her badge and be sent back to maintenance? Not likely, since Usagi was an exceptional OZ-ecutive. They needed more workers like her, and King Kazma would be a great attribute to their cause. But they still didn't know who they wanted to win more.

When they were prepared, the two avatars began to walk towards each other and stopped at each end of the Martial Arts Championship circle. Determination shone in both their eyes, fully alert of the other player's actions. The international clock glowed over them, revealing there were 30 seconds until midnight. Luka and Kei floated down under it.

"The rules are simple," Luka said. "No weapons. No name-calling. No bad-mouthing of any kind. Whoever is knocked out of the ring before the clock reaches 12:10 is the victor. If King Kazma is the winner, he will become an OZ-ecutive."

Kei, with her usual coy smile, floated up to the timer and sat on top of it. "On my mark…" She lifted her paw up.

_**21… 20… 19…**_

The white rabbit's eyes narrowed and his fists clenched.

_**14… 13… 12…**_

The she-bunny left her arms at her sides.

_**9… 8… 7…**_

The crowd of OZ-ecutives stared in awe.

_**3… 2… 1…**_

When the twelve o'clock sprung out, Kei shouted, "BEGIN!"

Usagi made the first move and lunged forward. She was just as quick as she was before, Kazma speculated. She raised her fist to his face. He easily blocked it. Unfortunately, he didn't anticipate her foot making its way to his face. She grazed his cheek as he tried to duck. Usagi continued to come at him, and King Kazma easily blocked all of her moves. She jumped back suddenly and continued to hold her fisticuffs.

Kazma smirked. "My turn."

The rabbit went ahead and began pouring out his own moves. Usagi blocked them just as he did, but she made a fatal mistake. Her side was wide open. Kazma took this opportunity to punch her vulnerable abdomen. Usagi flew back and managed to stay on her feet. Her arms suddenly shot around her stomach. Several exclamation points appeared over the OZ-ecutives. Their leader was already losing. Maybe King Kazma would reign supreme, after all.

But everybody knew better than to give up on Usagi so quickly. She was a stubborn bunny; no one was going to defeat her today. Almost immediately, Usagi straightened herself up and took a defensive stance.

King Kazma smirked. "I knew better than to underestimate you if we had a rematch. I hope I wasn't sorely mistaken."

He went at Usagi again, but this time, she caught his fist. Before he could grasp the situation at hand, she already had his other fist in her grasp. She kneed him in the stomach and began to pull his arms. Kazma gasped as he felt his oxygen supply decrease. "You wanted a rematch," she whispered in his ear, "you got it!" In one swift motion, Usagi punched him in the gut, making him fly into the air, and kicked him across the arena. His long ears barely reached the edge.

Just as he was pulling himself up, Kazma doubled over on his knees and coughed up blood. The audience was amazed. Kazma was stupefied.

_What the hell was that?_

The king staggered as tried to stand. How did Usagi manage to pull off such an effective move? He couldn't even manage to get off his knees.

"****."

Usagi clicked her tongue. "Kazma, Kazma, Kazma." Usagi ran forward. "You just can't follow the rules, can you?" She jumped and kicked him onto the other side of the arena.

"I know when it comes to challenges like these I can be a little free-spirited." She began walking towards the white rabbit as he tried to get up. "But that doesn't mean we can forget our limitations. I know mine; it's you I'm more worried about." She forced her foot on his back, rendering him unable to move. "You can get cocky, but I will take you down." She bent down further so she could whisper, "You will never be an OZ-ecutive as long as I'm standing."

Kazma laughed. "I told, Usagi, I know better than to underestimate you. Just because I'm King Kazma doesn't mean I think any less of you. After that race, I told myself I would do anything to have a rematch with you because I do know where my boundaries stand." Kazma swung his arm under Usagi. The she-bunny responded quickly enough to avoid a trip and flipped backwards. The white rabbit stood confidently despite the amount of energy slowly leaving his body. "They stand right here in OZ."

"We'll see."

Usagi went at him again and this time, King Kazma made sure that his eyes stayed on her. He could dodge as well as he could take a punch, which was a challenge because he was still recovering from the prior blow she delivered to him. He only had so much energy left in his body after that. His focus was slowly slipping away along with the blood flowing out of his wounds. At this point, Usagi would put him into submission if she didn't knock him out of the arena first. He needed to think of something quickly before she could do so. He needed to look for an open area or a weak spot like he did last time, or maybe a different tactic.

"Time's running short, Kazma," Usagi said. "I hope this rematch was fair enough."

King Kazma looked up at the clock briefly. It was 12:09. Now was the time to engage.

He went forward and she easily blocked his move, again. Then she took his shoulder and jumped over him. Her signature move was about to come up. Acting quickly, Kazma turned just as she performed a pirouette and blocked her leg. He took her ankle and swung her around to the other side of the arena.

The crowd of OZ-ecutives was in complete shellshock. Kei smiled deviously from above.

King Kazma looked back up at the clock. Ten seconds to 12:10. He looked back at Usagi, who was now sitting up. Her leg was outside the arena. Kazma smirked. He won just in time.

**O.O**

A smirk played on his lips. King Kazma never failed to please him. Things were about to get more interesting soon, he knew. And not just within OZ…

"Kei." The white Shiba Inu was lying down by her master's feet. She looked up from her position with a yawn to see what he wanted. "Looks like King Kazma has officially joined the OZ family. We should send him a gift, should we not?"

Kei barked in reply. "You read my mind, my sweet." He stroked his loyal companion behind the ears.

"Mr. Takeuchi," Kiko said as she came into the room. "It's past midnight. You'll miss your meeting tomorrow if you continue to stay up."

The young man stared at the young woman before it hit him. "Oh, yes! Thank you, Kiko. How could I survive without you?"

"You'd starve and die in your office."

The man frowned. "I'm certain that wouldn't happen. I could always eat Kei." The white dog whined. "I'm only kidding, girl. I'd starve first before eating you. And before that, I'm sure you'd make as fine of an assistant as Kiko."

Kiko laughed. "I wouldn't doubt it, sir."

As they left the office, Kiko handed him two files. "I'm sorry. I almost forgot about these. The files of those accounts on OZ you wanted, Mr. Takeuchi."

Mr. Takeuchi smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Kiko. You are by far the best assistant I could ask for, besides Kei here." He petted his companion's head tenderly. "If only you could talk, my four-legged friend."

"Sir, I was wondering..."

"Yes?"

"Why is it that you need those particular files? You never like to pry into the OZ accounts."

Mr. Takeuchi was silent for a moment before he responded. "Do you know about my family, Kiko?"

"I don't believe so, sir. You never talk about them."

"That's because they're all dead, or so I believed." Kiko looked up at him in confusion. "I've recently discovered I may have a long lost cousin, but that all depends."

"Depends on what, sir?"

He held up a finger to the smile on his lips. "That, I'm afraid, is a secret."

* * *

><p>In hyperbole, Kazuma never felt so exhausted waking up in the morning. Though his late night sessions on OZ usually never affected his sleeping habits, his body still knew when it reached its limit. Today, it was saying he should just stay in bed for the rest of the day to gain back those sleepless hours he spent on OZ, but he could never immediately go back to sleep right after he woke up.<p>

He didn't know if he was really awake until he heard shouting coming from the kitchen.

"They can't be damn serious!"

Kazuma rubbed his bed head as he walked out of his room to see what the commotion was about. He eventually made it into the kitchen. He found everyone there: Aunt Mariko, Uncle Mansuku, Riichi, Rika, Wabisuke, his Sensei, and his mother. They all looked to him when he entered the room, but Kazuma didn't bother to ask what was going on. For all they knew, he was still half asleep.

"Kazuma, did we wake you?" Kiyomi asked. He shook his head as he began rubbing his good eye. "Maybe we should talk about this some other time."

"There is no better time!" Mansuke shouted. "If we don't do something now, they'll take away our home!"

Kazuma stiffed up a bit. He began walking towards the cabinet pretending to do nothing but prepare his breakfast as he listened on.

"We need to call all the troops in! Prepare for war!"

"Honestly, Mansuke," Mariko said. "You make it seem like some international crisis. Whoever these men claim to be can't take away the manor. This house and the land have been in our family since Mother's time."

"That's what I told them! 'We gained this house in the Takeda war' I told them! 'Before the Takeda clan died out, their just leader gave the Jinnouchi clan head the deed to their manor, along with all the land they had! A tremendous sacrifice indeed, we thought, but the Takedas knew they wouldn't be able to win the battle without someone loyal fighting for them, and they could always rely on the fellow Jinnouchi clan! Ever since then, all the property that great granddad hadn't sold belonged to us! And if they wanted it, they could pry it out of my cold, dead hands!'

"We Jinnouchis have fought very hard for that land, and they think they're just going to take it away from us!"

Kazuma left the room with a bowl of cereal after that, not wanting to hear the rest. Even in his weary state, he knew how long he could take enough of his grandfather's overzealous appeal.

Even though he tried not to listen, Mansuke's loud voice made it hard to ignore their conversation. He was only able to pull out a few things from that heated conversation, but he knew what Mansuke was getting at. Someone wanted their home, and there was no way in hell anyone was going to get it.

He sighed as he took a bite of his cereal. No one seemed to believe his grandfather. It did seem pretty unbelievable that someone could just take Granny's house from them. It was their house, too, and the house and the rest of the land they had left was the only thing they had left of Granny. No one had the right to take it away from them. So how did it suddenly catch the attention of another buyer?

Kazuma always took his grandfather seriously. Sometimes he went overboard, but he always meant well and he was usually never wrong. So if someone wanted their house, it was a serious matter. But for once, he wished his Sensei wasn't right. He didn't need this, not right now. He wished he hadn't heard them talking. Now he couldn't stop thinking about it.

Kazuma sighed again as he set down his bowl. He was more awake and a bit antsy now that he knew someone was trying to take away their home. And now that he had a new job, he had two more things to worry about. Not only was his boss going to make working on the OZ Security Task Force a virtual hell, but he was also going to have to deal with Kei's constant tantalizing. Even though she supposedly had a job of her own, the little vixen always had time to bother him.

Just thinking about his first night on the job already began to make him fall back asleep.

One thing was for sure: this was going to be a long weekend. For once, Kazuma couldn't wait for Yuri's return.

* * *

><p><em><strong>R&amp;R!<strong>_


	6. Chapter 6

Yuri was exhausted. Even though she was practically an insomniac, nothing felt more exhausting than waking up at 9:00 AM in the morning. She never felt so drained in her life. Maybe juggling two jobs at once wasn't such a good idea, after all. Sure, she only had at to go over to help Kazuma three times a week, but each night she lost so much time she could've spent on OZ. She stayed up longer than she usually did and only got three hours of sleep that night.

Maybe that was why she felt so tired this morning. But it still didn't make any sense. Yuri would usually become accustomed to change over time. Even Reality—the damn bitch she was—couldn't put her down. So why did she feel so terrible?

And to make matters worse, she still had to walk a mile to the Jinnouchi manor today.

Great. Why did Reality insist on being such a bitch to her?

This time, Yuri decided to take her time this morning and have a decent breakfast instead of skipping out to get there early. She never understood why she woke up so early even though she always went to bed so late. It was another part of her that changed when her parents died, and it was something she really didn't understand. Maybe she really was becoming an insomniac. Her parents wouldn't be too happy about that. Being a _hikikomori_ was one thing, but staying up all night with only three hours of sleep was very unhealthy.

As she thought about this, Yuri looked at the table where she put her parents' picture frame. "You guys are always worrying too much," she said to the frame. "I'm not working too hard. The tire on my bike is still flat so I have to walk, and I haven't had time to get my glasses fixed so I have no choice but to go over Kazuma's. I know I shouldn't, but what else am I supposed to do? There's nobody else I know who can help me." A beat passed. "No, I'm not calling him. I don't need his help. I'll be fine. I have been for three years." Receiving no reply, Yuri continued to fix her breakfast. Even though they were dead, it was comforting to know that she could still communicate with her parents in some way. It was like they were never gone; they would always be there for her if not in presence, but in spirit. And they were the only family she had left.

When Yuri was done, the phone rang, which irritated her. She wanted to spend this morning peacefully with her family. It would've been the first time in ages since she actually ate breakfast with her parents. She hoped this was an emergency.

Instead of answering, Yuri waited for the answering machine to get it. A sharp beep sounded before the person began talking, "_Yuri? Are you there?_" The young woman dropped her fork. She recognized that voice. "_Come on, Yuri. It's me, Takashi. I've known you for years. I know you're there. Can you just answer the phone, please? It's important._"

Yuri hesitated. She hadn't heard from Takashi in years. An old family friend, Takashi had always helped her family out through the hardest times. Before her parents passed away, Takashi promised them he'd take care of Yuri. However, the 13-year-old girl proved that she could take care of herself on her own. And being a lawyer, Takashi had many clients from all walks of life, and he couldn't stay in one place for long. Before he left Japan, he promised to call (via phone or online chat) Yuri once a month to make sure she was alright, and in return, she promised to call him in case there was an emergency.

This was his second call this month, which only meant that something was wrong.

As much as she didn't want to pick up the phone, she knew she had to, otherwise Takashi would come over and deliver this bad news himself, and she really didn't want to hear any bad news, not when Reality was already doing a good amount of damage to her. She picked up the phone. "T-Takashi?"

"_Hey, kiddo! How've you been?_"

"Fine… I guess."

There was a moment of awkward silence before he began talking again. "_So, what've you been up to?_"

"What do you want, Takashi?"

"_What? Can't I call my favorite niece for no apparent reason?_"

"First of all, I'm not your niece. Second, you said it was important, and I know you wouldn't call me if it wasn't."

"_I knew you wouldn't pick up if I didn't say otherwise_."

Yuri sighed. "What do you want?" she inquired again.

"_I just wanted to tell you that I'm coming back to Ueda in a few days. I'll see ya then._"

Yuri froze up again. He was coming home, after three years? What was going on? "Wait, what—"

"_I have to go._"

"No, Taka—" Takashi hung up before she could get another word in. It was obvious he was hiding something. She would've called back, but she knew he would tell her what was going on once he arrived in Ueda.

Yuri looked over at the picture of her parents. It was like their smiles were mocking her. "Happy now?"

Knowing she would gain no reply, Yuri went to get dressed. Suddenly, she didn't feel so hungry anymore.

* * *

><p>Kazuma watch Yuri curiously as she did her work—well, didn't do her work. She was doodling something or other in her notebook, pretty much distracted. He didn't want to disturb her, but she was acting pretty weird, even for her. It was even weirder that he was concerned about her strange behavior at all.<p>

He was just starting to warm up to this friendship thing he and Yuri started some time ago. The least they were doing was acting civil towards each other—no more pencil throwing or face-kicking or anything provocative. Their main focus was homework, so friendship went second. But then Kazuma began to have these concerned feelings towards Yuri. Was this what it was like to have a friend?—to easily feel their distress, and feeling a certain unease of your own? It almost felt like having another sister, which was unnerving. Chiyo was trouble enough.

Before Kazuma could ask her what was wrong, he immediately pulled himself back into his thoughts. Something at the back of his mind was telling him this was a bad idea. The last time he tried to pry into her life, he got kicked in the face—of course, that wouldn't have happened if he never threw that pencil at her. And every time he got intrusive, she had this look on her face… Maybe it was better if he left it alone. It was none of his business, anyway.

But there was another nagging feeling in his head telling him if he didn't ask, it'd bother him until he did. He knew it was right. Damn his curious mind.

After much contemplation, he finally decided to speak up. "Um, Yuri?"

She didn't respond. In fact, she began drifting off as she continued to scribble circles in her notebook.

He sighed before clearing his throat and trying again. "Yuri!"

Suddenly, she jumped up. Her pencil went flying. Kazuma caught it before it hit him in the face. How ironic. "What! What is it?" she cried.

"You okay?"

She blinked twice, as if she hadn't known she just flipped out a moment ago. "Yeah, I'm fine." Then she yawned. "Why? What is it?"

"Well… nothing. Are you done?"

Yuri looked down to see the doodle she just drew. It was a bunny wearing a cap. "Oh, um… right. We're doing math." Yuri face-palmed herself. She was so out of it today. She really didn't feel like doing homework right now. The only thing she wanted to do was sleep all day. But before she arrived at the manor, she thought she might as well do some homework so she could have more work time on OZ. If only her eyes would stay open for at least 30 seconds. "Kazuma, do you mind if we take a break now?" She yawned again, this time rubbing her right eye.

Kazuma shrugged. He didn't mind at all. In fact, the only part he liked about doing homework was taking breaks. And Yuri looked like she really needed one. And a nap. "You look tired."

Yuri looked up at him again. "What makes you say that?"

Kazuma shrugged. "You just seem tired."

"Am I interrupting you kids?" Kiyomi asked. She had a tray with a plate of rice balls and two glasses of lemonade. Chiyo wasn't with her this time, which made Kazuma relieved. The last thing he and Yuri needed was a hyperactive toddler craving attention. Yuri looked as if she couldn't last another second.

"No," Yuri answered. She tried to make herself appear less exhausted, but Kazuma could easily see through her mask. "We just started our break. Where's the bathroom?"

"Down the hall to the left. It's the last door on the end."

"Thanks." Yuri rose from the table and slowly began to walk out of the room. She stumbled a bit, but with the support of the wall, she recovered and continued her way out of the room as quickly as possible. She didn't want them to notice that something was off about her, but that ship had already sailed.

Once Yuri was gone, Kiyomi joined her son at the table. "Yuri seems a bit… off. Is everything okay?"

"I wouldn't know," Kazuma said. "She doesn't talk about herself much, and I try to stay out of her business."

"I see." Kiyomi set the tray down and glanced at Yuri's notebook. There was a cute little doodle of a bunny wearing a cap. "Does Yuri usually walk here every morning?" she asked as she continued to look at the picture.

Kazuma glanced at it as well. He was impressed at how good the sketch was. Yuri was an artist when she drowsy. "Only three times a week. She does get here really early, though."

Kiyomi looked up from the notebook. "How early?"

Kazuma shrugged as he reached for a glass of lemonade. "What time is it?"

"It's almost 1:00."

"At least five hours earlier than that." Kiyomi gave Kazuma a look of disbelief, but Kazuma would never lie about something like that. She wondered how early this girl woke up in the morning. This poor, poor girl. "Does she have another job?"

"She told me she has a job on OZ."

Poor Yuri. No wonder she was so exhausted. Kiyomi suddenly thought of an idea. "How about if Yuri stays here for the night."

Kazuma nearly choked on his lemonade. "What!"

"Why not? Yuri's clearly exhausted. I think it would be better if she slept here for the night instead of going home immediately. It's not safe walking so late at night in her condition. And I'm sure Chiyo would enjoy having her here for the night. I think you should ask her yourself when she comes back."

Kazuma thought his mother was crazy. Asking a friend to stay over his house was one thing—which was ridiculous in itself because he didn't have any friends—but asking a _girl_ he barely knew was just… outrageous! And he couldn't even imagine how awkward it would be if she actually decided to stay at the manor. His mom would probably have her in the guest room closest to his bedroom. She was going to enjoy this more than he would.

"If it makes you comfortable, you can always tell her that it was my idea."

"No, it doesn't."

"Well, either you do it, or I will."

Kazuma cringed. Which was worse: asking his female classmate to sleepover his house or having his mommy do it for him? He decided the former was better.

"Fine."

"Thank you, Kazuma." Kiyomi kissed her son's cheek before exiting the room. Yuri returned just in time.

"Did your mom just leave?"

Kazuma nodded.

Yuri yawned for the nth time that day. This made Kazuma feel very uncomfortable. Now it was certain that Yuri really was sleep-deprived. Maybe having her stay here for the night wouldn't hurt, he thought. He'd be doing her a favor, after all.

"Hey, Yuri," he began. "I wanted to ask—I mean if you don't mind…" Yuri recognized the heavy sigh that erupted from his lips and his fidgety tone. His mom made him do this. She wondered when he was going to ask her a question out of freewill. Of course, what could he possibly ask her that was so important? "Do you… Do you want to stay over for the night?"

Yuri blinked owlishly. "What?"

"I'm not repeating myself."

"… _You_ want _me_ to stay over _here_, at _your house_?"

"Well—"

"Of course he does!" Kiyomi suddenly appeared behind her son again. Kazuma nearly had a heart attack. How was his mother able to sneak up on him like that? "Yuri, we'd be extremely honored if you stayed over here tonight. You look absolutely exhausted, and we think it's for the best that you stay here until you feel better." Kazuma didn't remember saying that but he silently agreed with his mom. Yuri was evidently wiped-out.

After a moment of consideration, Yuri shook her head. "Thank you, ma'am, but I have to decline. I appreciate your concern, but I'm fine. Plus I don't even have anything to sleep in or anything. All of my things are back at my house."

"I'm sure I could find something for you to wear, and we have extra toiletries and everything you need. We can arrange everything for you." Kazuma was impressed at how fast his mom made that offer. Why was she so desperate to have Yuri stay here with them? It wasn't like they weren't going to see each other again. "And I'm sure Chiyo would be disappointed if you didn't. She absolutely loves you." Kazuma almost winced. She pulled out the Chiyo card. Knowing how much Yuri adored his little sister, he knew she couldn't resist this offer.

Yuri sat quietly and looked down at her fumbling hands as she thought about Kiyomi's offer. Then, with an overly cheerful smile, Yuri said, "I'd love to stay over. Thank you, ma'am."

Kiyomi smiled. "I'll have your room ready before dinner."

Once she left, Kazuma turned to Yuri. "Are you sure you're okay with this?"

Yuri shrugged. "Sure. Your mom's really making an effort of getting us to be friends. I think the best thing to is play along." Kazuma never even considered this. Kiyomi was working really hard to keep Yuri in the manor. In fact, when she left the room, Kazuma realized that she didn't even ask about the homework. It was like she didn't care they were doing work at all. Wasn't that the only reason why she wanted Yuri to come to the house in the first place? "Are you okay with this?"

Kazuma turned away from his thoughts to see the quizzical look on Yuri's face. He shrugged in return. "I guess. And I have to agree with my mom. It's dangerous for you to walk to your house so late at night, especially in your condition." Yuri looked down then away from his gaze. He smirked at her squeamishness. "You can hide it all you want, but it's still obvious. You haven't had a wink of sleep in days, have you?"

Yuri nodded slowly. "It's my other job. I have to work nights, so it's… complicated."

Kazuma decided not to pry any further. He was already starting to make her feel uncomfortable. He decided, instead, to "play along" as Yuri had said and try out this friendship thing. "Okay, first things first. Since you're going to be staying over the Jinnouchi residence for the night, you can't go to work."

"What do you mean?"

"My mom's not going to let you out of this house let alone off of the property. You're not going to be able to go to work whether you have the choice or not. You better prepare yourself for never-ending pampering. My mom's relentless."

Yuri looked away pensively. "That actually sounds kind of nice. I haven't been pampered in a while." A mischievous smirk formed on her lips. "And since I'm your guest, you're going to have to pamper me, too." Suddenly, she jumped from her spot and put her arms around his neck. "We're going to have so much fun, Kazuma! We can play games, and do each other's hair, and—"

"You're kidding, right?"

Yuri laughed. "You really think I want to do any of that crap?" She released Kazuma. "But I have no idea what we should do. I mean, I've never been over someone's house before. It feels weird."

Kazuma had to agree. He'd never been to a sleepover in his life. No one invited him and the bullies repelled anyone who actually wanted to talk to him. Plus Yuri was a girl; what did his mom want them to do, make out? He wouldn't have been surprised. "I wouldn't know what to do. I've never been to a sleepover," he admitted.

"Me neither… But I think I've got an idea." Before he knew it, Yuri was kneeling by his side, smirking. This couldn't be good. "You're still going to be my slave, and you have to do everything I say." She poked his nose every other word. Kazuma wrinkled his nose. He suddenly regretted asking Yuri to stay over (though he had no say in this decision). She was so annoying when she was exhausted. And it seemed whenever the girls were having fun, he was always the one being tormented. Yuri was just going to make it worse.

"I don't think so."

Kazuma got up and began walking away when Yuri called out to him. "Kazuma!" With his hands in his pockets, Kazuma turned to see the white-haired girl with her arms stretched out as if she wanted a hug. "Pick me up. I'm too tired to walk."

"No."

She pouted. "But you're my slave!"

"But this is my house."

"I'm telling your mom!"

"And I'm going to the bathroom."

Another pout. "Fine. I can wait, Kazuma. I'll still be here when you get back!" He sighed, knowing that was sadly true. Why him?

When he was gone, Yuri grinned to herself. This was perfect. She didn't know when Takashi was coming back, but when he did, she wouldn't be home, and that meant he wouldn't know where she was. She didn't want to talk let alone face him at the moment. And she really didn't feel like making a meal for _two_ people let alone _one_ person. Even though she had taken care of herself for years, she had to admit she needed a break. When the chance came, she took it, reluctantly so.

She heard of these "sleepovers." Many of the kids in grade school had them all the time, but Yuri was never invited to one. Not that she cared. Now she had been invited to one, and it felt… weird. When she was little, she heard the girls stayed over the girls' houses, and boys would go over boys' houses. But _she_ was staying over _Kazuma's_ house. Wasn't that strange, especially since they were in high school, not to mention that she was a _hikikomori_? She wouldn't know. This was her first sleepover, after all.

_I'm sleeping over Kazuma's house._

The thought brought a smile to her face. _Hikikomori_ or not, Yuri was past the point of avoiding Kazuma. Now that they were "friends" and since they'd be sleeping in the same house, it would bring more embarrassment to Kazuma, and she couldn't help but think how cute he looked with that blush on his face whenever his mother or his cousin Rika embarrassed him. It was very ridiculous to the point that it was humorous.

This was going to be a fun experience.

* * *

><p>Yuri staying over wasn't as bad as Kazuma thought it would be. Chiyo was completely attached to her, so he had time to go online after they did their homework without her bothering him. His mom was waiting on her hand and foot, though Yuri didn't ask for much. But Kiyomi insisted on pampering Yuri since she was so tired. Kazuma was surprised she hadn't passed out yet—whether it be from the fireball of energy known as Chiyo, Kiyomi's constant pampering, or pure fatigue (even Kazuma had to admit that his mother's love was a real workout). Kazuma wished he had that much stability.<p>

The other members of the family also made her feel at home. Mansuke especially seemed to take a liking to her, ranting on about the moves she pulled when they had that fight weeks ago (much to Kazuma's embarrassment). It was strange, Kazuma thought, especially since his grandfather seemed very suspicious of her when they first met. He couldn't tell if it was an act (even though his grandfather was a terrible fraud) or not, so he decided not to be bothered by it. He'd rather have his overzealous grandfather at the dinner table than his suspicious one. Rika, Naomi, who just arrived that evening, and his mother wouldn't stop teasing him about Yuri being his girlfriend, but he decided to ignore that. He was more interested in watching Yuri and Wabisuke engage in conversation. For some reason, he was starting to get pissed off seeing his illegitimate uncle talking with his classmate, making her laugh—where the hell were those feelings coming from?

When dinner was over, Kiyomi had Kazuma show Yuri to the guestroom. And of course it had to be right next to his room. And since Chiyo wanted to be with Yuri, Kazuma had to take her with them. Oh joy.

"This is it," Kazuma said. He opened the door for Yuri, who was carrying his sleeping sister, and allowed them to go in first. The room was average sized, almost as big as his room. There was a futon in the center and a pair of pajamas and a toothbrush on top of that. "The other bathroom is right around the corner, so don't come knocking on my door if you need any help finding it."

"You're so kind," Yuri said sarcastically. "I'll make sure to bother you extra early tomorrow morning."

Kazuma sneered. "Funny."

"Are you kids getting along?" Kiyomi suddenly appeared behind Kazuma.

A hand went to his chest as he hyperventilated. "I wish you'd stop doing that," he seethed.

She just smiled innocently at him. "It looks like Chiyo's ready for bed," she said, referring to the little girl asleep in Yuri's arms. Kiyomi carefully took her away. "I hope this room suits your needs," she said to Yuri.

"It's fine. Thank you, ma'am."

"Alright. When you're ready for your bath, Kazuma will show you to the hot spring."

"You guys have a hot spring?"

"Yep. We've had it for a while. It's really nice, especially if you have company." She winked at her son. Kazuma looked away, a blush glowing on his face. Now his mom was just being perverted. "Good night, you two." She left with a snoozing Chiyo in her arms.

"I guess we're done here," Kazuma said with a sigh. "You ready to go?"

"Yeah, but before we go, do you have a computer I can borrow?"

"Huh?"

"I have to sign on OZ and tell them I can't do my shift tonight so they can have someone cover for me. Do you mind?"

Kazuma nodded his head and began to leading her to his room. He personally didn't want to take Yuri there, but his was the only computer in the house. He didn't have anything to hide, but he'd prefer it if strangers—preferably no one—went into his room. Privacy was priority. However, once Yuri was in his room, she didn't say anything. In fact, she seemed too intrigued by the laptop to pay attention to anything hanging on his walls or splattered on the floor. The laptop was already on, so he her let do what she needed to do. He usually didn't like to eavesdrop, but Kazuma watched her—he couldn't afford any viruses—as she logged onto OZ.

"What exactly do you do on OZ?" he asked.

"Maintenance and stuff. It's not a big deal," she said, distracted.

No wonder she was exhausted. Kazuma remembered that Kenji also had a part-time job on OZ. Before the AI incident, he worked in the maintenance department. He heard it was a lot of work, and with the math Kenji was using, he knew it had to be a difficult job. When his account was stolen by Love Machine and later destroyed by yours truly, he kept the squirrel avatar he used to help destroy Love Machine and used it help maintain OZ again. Now he uses it for his part-time job. He wondered if he and Yuri ever met.

"Done," she said as she quickly logged off. "Do you want me to leave it on?"

Kazuma just nodded. He took her to the hot spring, which was next door the Jinnouchi manor. "Can you handle it from here?" he asked.

Yuri nodded. "Yeah, I think can."

Kazuma turned and waved at her carelessly. "Goodnight, then."

Before he could take another step, Yuri called out to him. "Kazuma." When he turned, he saw Yuri with her head down. Her hands hugged the folded towel close to her chest as if she didn't want to reveal herself. She bit her lip before speaking. "Um… thank you, for this… I know you didn't want to ask, but… no one has ever insisted on taking care of me like this in years, and I'm glad I decided to stay. Thanks for going along with it."

Kazuma looked away shyly, a hint of a blush reddening his cheeks again. "No problem." And with that, he left.

After hearing Yuri's gratitude, Kazuma felt a fluttering feeling in his stomach and his cheeks felt warm, and not in the embarrassing way. But he also felt kind of penitent. Yuri made it sound like he never wanted her to stay in the first place. Maybe he did at first, but he was truly concerned about her. She made it sound like her parents didn't care about her anymore—and he wouldn't know since she insisted on being so clandestine about her life, but that didn't change the fact that he cared. After all they'd been through the past few weeks—the homework they did and the games they played with Chiyo when they took breaks—he knew he could truly call Yuri his friend.

Kazuma arrived in his room when his mother suddenly came in. He hadn't even gotten a chance to log into OZ. "Is she in the bathhouse?" she asked.

"Yeah." Now that he had his mother here, something suddenly came to mind. "Hey, Mom."

"Yes, dear?"

"My grades aren't failing, are they? You lied and made those grades up… Did you have me look for a tutor… so I could make a friend?"

Kiyomi looked at her son surprisingly. Then she smiled. "You catch on fast, Kazuma. I'm surprised you hadn't figured it out sooner."

"Why would you do that?"

She sighed as she made her way over to his bed and sat down. "Ever since you were bullied in elementary school, you've been so reclusive, and not just from your family. Do you even remember the last friend you had?"

It seemed almost like a rhetorical question. "Mom, I've never had a friend before… except maybe Kenji. And you know I'm not good with people; I'm not a people person. Everyone I first meet usually hates me."

"Not Yuri." That was certainly true. As far as he knew, Yuri was mutually fond of him. "You like her, don't you?"

"We're friends, aren't we?"

"You know what I mean, Kazuma." Kiyomi suddenly began walking towards the door. "Don't stay up too late this time. You're going to be as exhausted as Yuri." And with that, she left her son to his thoughts.

_You like her, don't you?_

What exactly did his mom mean by that?

Kazuma decided to leave the question alone for the time being. He'd think about it when his head was clearer and when his face didn't feel so warm. And what better place to clear your head than OZ?

Clicking on the cordless mouse, Kazuma began logging into his OZ account and venturing the online world as King Kazma.

**~V.V~**

King Kazma sighed as he stood among the crowd of OZ citizens. Being a n00b—the very insulting name that OZ-ecutives gave novices in the OSTF—sucked. He was on a three week probation, which basically took over the rest of his summer. Not only did he not get to be a part of the action, but he was basically doing nothing. He wanted more, but he knew he had no right to ask for that. He should've felt lucky he had this job.

"Hey, rabbit." Kazma didn't bother to turn to the familiar annoying voice next to him. "What's going on?"

"Nothing really." He sighed, leaning against the wall of one of the shops. "They told me to do what I basically do every day so I won't seem suspicious, and that's what I'm doing. This isn't at all what I had in mind."

"Look on the bright side: At least you're getting paid to do nothing."

He grunted under his breath. "Don't you have work you should be doing?"

"I don't think that's any of your concern."

Kazma glared at the fox. Since when was she so secretive? He decided not to care at the moment. "I'm too tired to deal with you. But I'd get out of here before another OZ-ecutive gets here if I were you."

"If the OSTF had the authority to take me away, they would've done it by now, don't you think?"

"Are you saying you have more authority over the OSTF?" The only response he received was another one of Kei's sarcastically innocent smiles. Kei was a wonder. He wondered who the person behind the little conniving vixen was. Probably someone powerful.

Kazma grunted. "This is tedious work. I don't even have the OZ-ecutive gadget yet. How is anyone supposed to know that I'm a part of the OSTF?"

"They're not."

Kazma raised a brow in question. "What do you mean?"

"They whole point of the OSTF is so that no one knows that they're being monitored. After the AI hacked the system, we decided it would be better to use the avatar as a security measure instead of using the state of the art security systems like Norton. So as far as these people are concerned, the OSTF doesn't even exist."

"So I'm guessing the OZ-ecutives I met the other day weren't average teenagers working a part-time job."

"Well... I wouldn't say that, but for the most part, yet. Most of the OZ-ecutives you'll ever meet are real professionals who've helped make this wonderfully diverse universe safe for everyone. You wouldn't believe how many people actually work on OZ." This whole system was still hard for Kazma to comprehend, but it was starting to make sense. Even though he just joined this group, he didn't expect to be on top of things immediately. Kei just gave him more than he asked for.

"So why was I hired?"

"Because you were the only one who had the guts to take on Love Machine even after he kicked your butt. Anyone willing to risk their lives for OZ is trustworthy and very beneficial to the OSTF."

"I see."

A private message was suddenly sent to him. It was from Luka, Usagi's second in command. He was assigned by Usagi herself as his probation officer.

_**Any trouble?**_

This was the third check-in for his progress report. Once he hit the third mark, Kazma could log off or take the rest of the night off to wander OZ. However, the rabbit didn't want to stay in OZ any longer.

_**Nothing here to report.**_

He waited for a reply. A _bing!_ gave off, indicating another message was sent.

_**You're done for the night, Kazma.**_

He didn't bother to reply.

"My shift is done," he said to Kei. "I'm leaving now."

Kei pouted. "Aw, you're no fun."

"I've just spent five hours sitting here doing nothing. You really expect me to stay any longer?" He paused for a moment. "Actually, I want to ask you something before I leave."

"You want to know where Usagi is, don't you." It wasn't a question, so Kazma didn't bother to reply. "Don't bother. She's not here. In fact, I don't think she's been logged on all day. I tried going to her Home, but she wasn't there."

"Wait, you can go to her Homepage?"

"Anyone associated with her can visit her Home, if she's logged on, that is."

"Does that include OZ-ecutives?"

"Of course."

Kazma had to thank the fox for this later. "I'll see you around." And with that final note King Kazma flew off back to his Homepage, leaving Kei with a satisfied smirk.

"He's too obvious."  
><em><em>

* * *

><p><em><strong>R&amp;R!<strong>_


	7. Chapter 7

Kazuma didn't expect to get up so early. He didn't stay up as long as he thought he would. His new online job wasn't what he thought it was going to be, so he turned in earlier than he normally would. Just three more weeks of this and then school would be just around the corner. What was he thinking?

Outside, he heard some noises coming from the bathroom, which meant that Yuri was up. He was the only other person who used this bathroom because it was closest to his room, so she was the only possible suspect. As he listened to the running water coming from the bathroom, he glanced at the clock, wondering how early it actually was. 9:45 AM. Damn. Kazuma couldn't remember the last time he woke up feeling this refreshed. He didn't even hear Yuri go into the bathroom.

_I should start going to bed early._

After hearing that thought, he laughed. Like that would ever happen!

After he got dressed, Kazuma left his room just as Yuri left the bathroom. She was already dressed for the day, wearing what she did yesterday because she never packed to stay overnight. Once she saw Kazuma, she started walking next to him. "Good morning," she said.

"Yeah, morning." His eyebrow rose to a quirk. Yuri looked much better than yesterday. In fact, she seemed pretty much back to normal. Last night, Yuri was acting like an average, obnoxious, high school girl, like the ones who went to their high school. It was like she was drunk (up to the part of the day when Yuri thanked him for asking her to stay at the Jinnouchi manor, which was also a bit out of character). Maybe sleep was the best medicine, after all.

Noticing his staring, Yuri asked, "Is something wrong?"

Kazuma stammered, "W-What? What makes you say that?" He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked away from her so she wouldn't see his blush.

"Okay…" Yuri also turned away as a small smile crept on her face.

Once they were in the kitchen, Kazuma began to pull out cereal for his breakfast. He didn't know what Yuri liked, so he pulled out almost everything from the cabinets and the fridge. "We have basically everything," he said. "I can make whatever you want."

"No, that's okay," she said politely. "I'll just stick with cereal." She grabbed a bowl and began pouring. She didn't notice how quiet it was until Kazuma started munching on his breakfast. "Hey, Kazuma, is it usually this quiet in the morning? Where is everyone?"

Kazuma stopped eating for a moment at Yuri's observation. It was completely silent, besides the sounds of Yuri preparing her breakfast. His mother was usually up before he was, and she'd be feeding Chiyo right about now. However, they were the only two people in the kitchen, probably even in this part of the house. He knew then that something was off.

Sensing his unease, Yuri put the cereal away. "Do you want to look for them?" she asked him cautiously.

He quickly shook his head. "No, I'm sure everything's okay. They're probably talking about something we 'wouldn't understand.' I hate how they treat me like a kid." The first thing that came to mind was the argument the adults had a few days ago. He hoped they could confirm the situation at hand. The thought hadn't left his mind since that morning even though he didn't worry about it as much as he did that day. Now that Yuri was here, it seemed pointless to worry about it anymore. Strange how effectual people were.

_Yuri's different_, he kept reminding himself.

"Well, it's probably for the best if they don't want you to know," Yuri replied.

Kazuma shrugged. "Yeah, maybe." The kitchen was once again engulfed in silence. The teens spooned their cereal awkwardly, not sure what to say at the moment. "So… what do you want to do while we wait? It's too early for homework."

Yuri glanced around the kitchen with a fist to her chin. "I don't know. I was planning on eating."

Kazuma frowned at her sarcasm. "I meant _while_ we're eating."

"Well, what do you usually do when you're eating breakfast?"

Kazuma was about to answer when something jumped on his back—or some_ ones_. "KAZUMA!"

Yuri giggled when she saw the children attack Kazuma. "I guess this is how you spend your mornings."

"This isn't funny!" Kazuma growled.

He hated this part of the summer: the family was here to visit. On his back were his three younger cousins. After three years, they still acted like the little maniacs that couldn't keep their hands to themselves. They always had to mess with somebody, especially him. Old habits died hard. And if they were here, that meant the rest of the family was somewhere else. He'd worry about that later, though. Right now, he needed to get these animals off his back. "Get off of me!" He pushed all of the children on the floor. All they did was laugh. "I haven't even finished breakfast yet!"

"Sorry, Kazuma," they all said simultaneously, mischievous smiles still on their faces.

Yuri stopped giggling and smiled at the children. She guessed they were the children of the three brothers, Yorihiko, Katsuhiko, Kunihiko Jinnouchi, the ones Kazuma had told him about. The little boy with the bowl cut wearing glasses was Yuhei, Katsuhiko's second oldest son. The sandy-haired boy was Shingo, and the little girl in with pigtails was his little sister, Mao. They were both Yorihiko's children. Yuri suddenly jumped when she felt something touch her leg. It was a little girl who looked about 5-years-old. She had short brown hair and a curious look in her eyes, most likely wondering what this stranger was doing in her great grandmother's home. Yuri assumed she was Kana, Kunihiko's daughter. The only two missing were Kyohei, the youngest son of Katsuhiko, and Ryohei, the eldest son who was in college.

The older girl smiled awkwardly at Kana. "Hello."

The little girl tilted her head to the side. "Who are you?"

"I'm Yuri, Kazuma's friend from school." Her answer seemed to satisfy the little girl. She smiled toothily at her and climbed into her lap. Yuri helped steady her until she was comfortable. Despite her being an only child, children were so naturally attracted to her, and she secretly loved them.

"What are you guys doing here, anyway?" Kazuma suddenly asked. "Granny's birthday isn't for another three weeks."

"Grandpa Mansuke called everyone in for an emergency," Yuhei answered.

"Some strange men want to take Granny's home away," Mao added. "Or something like that."

"What?" Kazuma exclaimed.

"We heard a bit of what they were talking about before we came here," Shingo said. "I think they're still talking about it now."

Kazuma zipped out of the room before anyone could blink.

"I guess breakfast is over," Yuri said with a sigh. She carefully set Kana on the ground before she went after him.

Kazuma ran through the halls to see where his family might have been occupying. He guessed the dining room with the television surrounded by the veranda, which was one of the biggest rooms in the manor. On his way, he stumbled a bit, hearing outrageous shouting coming from the broad and not-so-sound-proof walls of the dining room.

"Come on! We have to think of something!" he heard Mansuke shout.

"Dad, calm down," Naomi said. "It's not like they're going to audit the house. You said those guys were coming on the 7th, right? That's only a few days from today."

Kazuma slowly approached the door until he could see through a slit. Inside, he saw everyone—from his mom to Shota to Naomi to Tasuke—until the slit of the door ended. His assumptions were correct. They were talking about the manor and how those men were trying to take it from them. Mansuke wasn't exaggerating when he said this was an emergency.

"Who are these guys, anyway?" Yorihiko asked. "And what gives them the authority to take away Granny's home?"

"They're just some businessmen trying to get the rest of Granny's property," Rika answered. "You know, the property that Great Grandpa couldn't sell."

"They can't buy it if we don't offer to sell it," Kiyomi said.

"Yeah, so what's the problem?" Shota asked.

"The deed," Mariko answered. Everyone was in awe.

"You mean…" Mansuku didn't need to finish.

Mariko nodded. "Mother never told anyone of us, not even me, where the deed to the manor and the rest of the property is. If they find out, then the house could easily be taken away from us." Kazuma's eyes widened. How could this have happened? Why wouldn't Granny give one of her children the deed to her house? Didn't she trust any of them? They were family, for Pete's sake! Granny had always said that family was important, Kazuma remembered. There was something definitely off about this.

"How easily?" Katsuhiko asked.

"To the highest bidder."

A moment of silence passed over the family. Kazuma could feel the unease in the room; it was like it was creaking through the slit of the door. Kazuma would've left at this point, but then something jumped in his lap.

"Kazuma, what are they—?"

Kazuma quickly covered up the mouth of his loud-mouth cousin, Yuhei. Behind him he saw his other two cousins. He frowned at them, and they smiled sheepishly. He thought Yuri would've been able to keep them at bay, but—who was he kidding? No one could keep those kids under control, not even their parents. Besides, Yuri probably wouldn't know where to find them. This house was still a puzzle to her, and it was only a matter of time before she would be able to find her way through this place on her own.

After he released Yuhei, Kazuma put a finger to his lips, telling the kids to be quiet. They nodded their heads in understanding and sat against the wall to listen to their parents' conversation.

"Well, didn't she save it on OZ or something?" Mansuke asked anxiously.

"I doubt it," Mansuku answered.

"Granny was never into technology," Yorihiko pointed out, "and after the incident with OZ, I doubt she would've taken that chance. She had to have hidden it somewhere else before that."

"Where else could it possibly be?" his brother Kunihiko asked.

Mariko thought to herself for a moment. "There is…" Everyone became eerily silent as they waited for her to continue. "The Takeda—"

"That's ridiculous!" Mansuke cried out. "The Takeda clan died out years ago during the war. There's no way they could've survived this long!"

"I know that! But Mother had a lot of connections with other clans who fought with us during the Meiji era. She probably gave it to one of them."

"So she's more likely to give the deed to her own home to one of her friends rather than give it to her close relatives! That's bullshit!"

Mao stifled a tiny gasp hearing her grandfather swear. The boys rolled their eyes. It wasn't the first time Mansuke had ever cussed in front of them. In fact, he had a terrible inclination of using profanity in front of everyone, including guest and children, but no one could help that he was so rambunctious.

When Kazuma looked back through the door, he quickly redrew his gaze. His Sensei was looking at the door—almost as if he was looking at _him_. But when Kazuma looked back, Mansuke's gaze was now concentrated on the task at hand. Kazuma let out a silent breath. Mao had almost gotten him in trouble.

"What should we do until it's found?" Katsuhiko asked.

"Pray that someone else doesn't find it first, and hopefully Riichi will have something by the time those men come here," Mariko answered. "Riichi, do you think you can find it somehow?"

"I could try to look through our family archives," her son answered, "but if it's not there, then I don't think I'll be much help then. It'll be nearly impossible to find by that point."

"Well, while you do that, let's just prepare for Mother's birthday party."

"Mom, that's not until another two weeks," Rika said.

"Better to do today than to put off tomorrow."

"I don't like that saying."

Seeing the adults were about to exit the room, Kazuma and the kids ran back to the kitchen before they could be discovered. Kazuma leaned back in one of the couches near the kitchen and sighed. "So, did you find them?" Yuri was sitting in one of the chairs across from the coffee table in front of them. Kana was in her lap gazing at him curiously.

Kazuma sat up on the chair and brushed his hair back. "No."

"Oh. Okay. I was going to go after you, but then the kids sped off ahead of me and I lost track of them. I decided to stay behind with Kana instead of getting lost in this place."

Kazuma figured as much, but he didn't say it. He just nodded his head in reply.

"Where are your cousins?"

Kazuma opened his mouth to reply, but then he suddenly stopped. He had no idea where they ran off to. They were running with him a moment ago, but as soon as he entered the room, they suddenly disappeared. He figured they ran off to cause more mischief. Kazuma didn't care. They were better off somewhere else than here bugging him again.

"Well, if it isn't Kazuma!" Suddenly, Kazuma found himself caught in a headlock by Kunihiko. "It's great to see ya!"

"I wish… I could say… the same!" Kazuma struggled to say. He saw where Yuhei, Shingo, and Mao got their energy from. When he was finally able to escape from Kunihiko's hold, the three brothers began laughing. "You guys are here early," he said nonchalantly.

"Yeah, well…" The brothers chuckled and rubbed the backs of their heads nervously as if they had something to hide.

"Daddy!" Kana suddenly jumped out of Yuri's lap and ran to her father.

Kunihiko swept her up, making her giggle. "Hey, kiddo." Then he noticed the girl sitting across from Kazuma. Her head was bent down, so he couldn't see her face. "Who's your new friend?"

"Yuri, Kazuma's friend from school!"

"Kazuma's friend from school, huh?" The brothers looked at each other mischievously. Kazuma groaned and leaned back in his chair again. Kana had done it.

"Don't be rude Kazuma," Yorihiko said, putting the teen into another headlock.

"Yeah, introduce us to your friend," Katsuhiko said.

"I would if you'd just let go!"

"Kazuma!" The three brothers stopped their merry-making and everyone turned to see Mansuke standing by the entrance. He had a very serious look on his face, which made Kazuma very unsettled. "We need to talk."

The men looked at each other before letting the younger boy go see what his grandfather wanted, although they already had an idea of what they were going to talk about.

Once they were in the hallway away from prying ears, Mansuke said, "Kazuma, I know you were listening to our conversation." Kazuma nodded, not bothering to deny that claim. He could never lie to his Sensei—but he felt it could've been important to mention that Yuhei, Shingo, and Mao told him about their little, private family meeting in the first place. "And I wouldn't be surprised if you already heard the news that one morning in the kitchen." There was no use denying that either, Kazuma thought. He could fool anyone with his fake half-asleep routine, except his grandfather. "I didn't want you to hear that. We don't need you kids to worry about something like this."

"Is it really true?" Kazuma finally asked. "Are we really going to lose this place?" He'd been living in the manor for three years, and he already held a huge attachment to it. He didn't want anyone to take his home away.

"You really think we're going to let those bastards take Granny's home away!" Mansuke exclaimed. "We Jinnouchis never give up without a fight!" He patted his grandson's shoulder assertively. "Don't worry, Kazuma. No one's taking this place from us."

Kazuma nodded in agreement. "Right."

"So, how's about we get something to eat. I'm sure you haven't had breakfast yet."

His stomach grumbled in reply. Kazuma blushed with embarrassment. He guessed one bite of cereal wasn't enough. "No." The sudden mention of breakfast reminded Kazuma that Yuri was still waiting for him in the living room. His uncles were probably telling her all sorts of embarrassing stories about when he was younger. Not that he had anything to hide, but knowing his uncles, they'd probably have the gall to make up something bogus.

When they were back in the living room, the three brothers were in the kitchen getting their own breakfast. Kana was kneeling in a chair next to her father eating a rice ball. Yuri was nowhere in sight. "Where's Yuri?" he asked. "The girl who was sitting here a few moments ago."

Yorihiko, Katsuhiko, and Kunihiko rubbed the backs of their heads bashfully. "We kind of… accidentally scared her off," Katsuhiko answered.

"What?"

"We don't exactly know what we did," Kunihiko said.

"It was so strange," Yorihiko said. "One moment, we're introducing ourselves, but before we knew it, she ran off."

Kazuma stiffened. Yuri had no idea where she was going or where she'd end up. He had to find her. But before that, he had to find something to eat.

In a less than a minute, Kazuma put something together on a tray. "Thanks," he said before he also sped off. Everyone stared after him, very curious as to how he gained so much energy in a short amount of time.

A few moments later, Kazuma found Yuri crutched down underneath the veranda of the room where they did homework together. At least she knew a few places to hide, he thought to himself in relief. But the brothers weren't kidding when they said they scared her off. She was literally hiding away, almost like she was hiding away from the world. Her arms were crossed over her knees and her chin rested on them. When he saw her face, he stopped. Her cheeks were red. He took a step closer. He then realized that her face wasn't red because she had been crying. She almost looked angry, which was an underestimate. Her eyebrows were knitted close together and her gray eyes were burning with a fiery passion, and she looked like she wanted to punch something—or someone.

Before he could blink, Yuri was up on her feet, her right foot flying up, kicking a strawberry from its vine. She glanced at a piece of broken stake next to her. She grabbed it and began brandishing it about in fluid motions. Kazuma blinked owlishly. Yuri was sparring. She must've been extremely livid, and he felt sorry for the poor bastard who she was angry with. As he watched her practice, he recognized the moves she was using.

When she was done, he slowly began making his way towards her. "Nice moves," he said. "I never thought you could be as skillful with a piece of wood as you are free hand." Yuri jumped in surprise. It was obvious she hadn't realized he had been watching him this whole time. "You were using the Dan Dao* technique, weren't you?" Yuri nodded shyly. "My Sensei told me about it. I've never seen it before, so I guess that's the best interpretation I've seen so far. I wouldn't know because I don't use weapons; I prefer the Luohan Quan*."

Yuri stared at him for a moment as if he were insane. Then she set the stake back down and sat on the veranda, bringing her legs up, and burrowing her face into her knees. Kazuma's eyebrow perked up in question. What was wrong with her now?

"Did your uncles tell you I ran off?" her muffled voice asked irately. "I wouldn't have gotten lost. Just go back with your family. I want to be alone right now."

Instead, Kazuma took a seat next to the girl and brought his foot up so it his elbow could prop up on his knee.

Yuri glared at him. "Why are you still here?"

"What, I can't sit here if I want?"

"I told you I wanted to be alone."

"Well that isn't the best to solve your problems, is it?" Yuri replied by sinking her face back into her arms. "Listen, Yuri. I don't know why meeting my uncles scared you off, but don't run off like that again. I don't want you to be alone."

Yuri was silent for a moment. "Why do you care?" she asked slowly.

Kazuma smirked. "Well, because we're friends. And friends care about each other, right?"

Yuri sat up from her fetal position and stared at Kazuma wide-eyed. The tan boy just sat on the veranda with his easygoing smirk. His handsome face shined in the sun's radiance. A smile graced upon her lips in comfort.

"Thanks."

Suddenly, their silent moment was ruined by their gurgling stomachs. Their faces turned red in embarrassment. With all that was going on, Yuri had completely forgotten about breakfast. She thought of going back to the kitchen, but the uncles were probably still there, maybe even the rest of the family.

"I brought something," Kazuma said. From behind him, he brought out a tray of _onigiri_ he made. "I made this for us so we wouldn't have to go back to the kitchen. I'm not the best at making these and I kind of rushed when I was making them so I could find you before you could get lost, but it'll fill us up until lunch."

Yuri didn't hesitate to grab one and eat it up. Kazuma grabbed one as she reached for a second. The teens sat in the leisure of each other's company as they ate their small breakfast.

"How's your eye, Kazuma?"

"It's still a little bruised, but it's barely noticeable."

"That's good. I still feel bad about kicking you in the face."

"Hey, like I said, it's no big deal. I don't care anymore."

"… So why exactly did you throw that pencil at me again?"

* * *

><p>Kazuma and Yuri spent the majority of the day in his room away from the family. He didn't care what his mother, his aunts, or the rest of the family thought. It wasn't like they were doing anything they weren't supposed to. They were just doing their normal homework routine. At this rate, they would be done with all their work before Granny's birthday arrived—but Yuri's glasses getting fixed was another factor to consider, so he wasn't sure whether she'd still come over at that point.<p>

Of course, there was no point in lying about their plan now since his mom had already confessed to him that his terrible grades weren't actually that terrible.

"Your mom did what?"

Kazuma laughed. "Yeah, I can't believe I fell for that."

"I'll say," Yuri said before she began laughing with him.

When they both sobered up, they sat in silence for a moment while they continued their work. Kazuma glanced over at Yuri curiously. There was still something bothering him. He had to ask her.

"Hey, Yuri," he said. "Does this mean… Are you going to come back?" Yuri looked up at him, as if she didn't understand his question. "I mean… There's no need for you to stay over anymore because my mom lied. I know how uncomfortable you are whenever my family's around, but that doesn't mean we can't still be friends... and I know Chiyo would have a fit if she never saw you again."

Yuri giggled. "Well, I wouldn't want to make Chiyo upset." She nudged his arm with her elbow. "And I'm sure you'd miss me terribly."

Kazuma scoffed. "Yeah, right."

"Kazuma, Yuri." Kiyomi suddenly entered the room. "I brought you something from the kitchen. I knew you two would be hungry since you skipped dinner with us."

"Thank you," they said simultaneously. Kazuma took the tray from his mom and quickly retreated back to his bed. He was rather surprised she didn't make another comment about Yuri being in his room, but he was very thankful for this blessing in disguise. He didn't want her to say _anything_.

"Oh, and Kazuma, I just wanted to tell you that Natsuki and Kenji have arrived. They were able to join us for their summer vacation and decided to come early."

"Okay, Mom."

"Yuri, I'm assuming you're staying again."

"Uh…" Yuri wasn't planning on staying a second night. After what happened this morning, she and Kazuma had been hiding out in his room, eating their meals and doing homework, because she didn't have the courage to come out—though she wouldn't admit it. She hated how she looked so weak in front of them. There was no way she could face their family without feeling so shamefaced. "I think I'll go home. I don't want to take up the room you could give to one of your cousins."

"Nonsense! There's plenty of room—"

"Mom." Kazuma gave her a look that told her not to push Yuri. She was obviously uncomfortable.

But to his surprise, she said, "Okay."

Kazuma's mom beamed. "Great!" she said happily before exiting Kazuma's room.

He sighed. "Yuri, if you don't want to, you can always say no."

"That's the thing. I _don't_ want to."

Kazuma stared at her curiously. "Why not? You don't seem too comfortable being around them. We spent the whole day in my room because you were scared."

Surprisingly, Yuri glared at him. "I think I'll go to the hot spring now. I need to let off some steam."

She left Kazuma, not bothering to collect her things. Kazuma blinked when she slammed the door. Now he was as confused as ever. What did he say now?

**...**

Yuri's face was red with rage. She wasn't scared of Kazuma's family. She wasn't scared of _anything_, and she felt insulted that Kazuma would make such an outrageous accusation like that. But deep down, she didn't feel it was that outrageous; she did act like a coward this morning when Kazuma's uncles were introducing themselves. And then there was Takashi. He was the only reason why she wanted to stay another night in the Jinnouchi manor in the first place. She didn't know if he was here or not, and she wasn't ready to see him yet. And she also didn't need Kazuma to defend her. She was perfectly fine. Sort of.

Yuri groaned in frustration. What exactly was she running away from? Why didn't she want to get close to people? And why did it make her so angry? It wasn't because she was scared, she knew it wasn't.

_It's because I'm a _hikikomori_._

Yuri stopped in the hall when she heard adult laughter nearby. She realized she stumbled back to the broad room where everyone was socializing. She frowned at the scene. No way would she be able to get along with these people. They were just too happy being together, telling each other's stories like the enormous family they were... It brought a miniscule smile to her face.

As she began to walk off, a certain conversation suddenly hit her ear. "...knew Kazuma was such a charmer?"

"I know. That Yuri girl must be something special since he's been hiding her in his room all day."

"Yeah. They must be _real_ close." Yuri felt her face warm up again.

"Now boys," she recognized Kazuma's mother's voice, "it's nothing like that, I can assure you. She's just a classmate from school helping him with his homework. It's all innocent."

"You didn't think it was so innocent yesterday, Kiyomi," another peculiar female voice said. "I thought you wanted Kazuma in a relationship?"

"And since when does Kazuma need help in school?"

"Sounds like bullshit to me."

"They're obviously up to some trouble," another voice said playfully. "You think they're next?"

"Probably. First Kenji and Natsuki, now Kenji and Yu..."

"NO! Cousin Shota forbids Natsuki's engagement...!"

"Shut up, Shota!"

Yuri ran off, not wanting to hear anymore. She knew it was all in fun and games, but since when did adults become so perverted, especially Kazuma's mom? Sure, she heard the older woman make a few jokes when she and Kazuma were around, but she never knew she was serious about wanting her and Kazuma to be in an intimate relationship. Usually, parents did everything they could to prevent their kids from having sex, but she wouldn't have been surprised if Kiyomi did the opposite...!

Once she was at the hot spring, Yuri sighed in relief as the lukewarm water opened up her pores. She really needed this. This was the only place where she could get away from it all—homework, Kazuma's crazy family, Kazuma...

"May I join you?"

Or so she thought.

Yuri slowly turned to see the intruder who ruined her moment of peace. She was dazzled to see a beautiful young woman. Her ebony hair was swaddled in a towel as well as her slim body. Yuri was envious. She must've been another Jinnouchi.

The young woman smiled at her for a moment before joining her in the bath. Yuri awkwardly sat on the other side as the young woman leaned back. After a while, the woman sat back up and smiled at her again.

"Hey, you're Kazuma's friend from school... Yuri, is it?" Yuri nodded dumbly. "Everybody's been talking about you, especially my uncles. They said some things about you and Kazuma..." When she saw Yuri sink into the water, she laughed nervously. "But I'm sure they're just rumors." Yuri didn't even know this woman and yet she never felt so embarrassed.

"I'm his second cousin Natsuki, by the way. It's nice to meet you." Natsuki took her hand out of the water and held it out for Yuri to shake. The younger girl did so hesitantly before quickly pulling it back in. "Don't worry. You don't have to be afraid of me or my crazy family. Sometimes they get carried away but they mean well." Yuri just nodded again.

Natsuki stared at her curiously. "Do you talk at all?" This question made Yuri sink further into the water. "That's okay. You don't have to talk. Kazuma used to be like that all the time when we were little." The sudden mention of Kazuma made Yuri emerge from the water. Natsuki smiled in success. "Yeah, Kazuma used to be the shiest kid. Not so much around family, but rather other kids. Then when he started to get bullied, he began learning Shaolin Kung fu with our grandfather. He gained a sense of confidence, and maybe a little too much cockiness, but even after the bullies stopped coming after him, he still didn't try to make any friends.

"I thought it was cute when I heard Kazuma finally found a friend. From what I've heard, Kazuma's actually changed. Ever since Love Machine, Kenji's been his only friend... sort of. Kazuma only talks to him whenever they encounter each other on OZ, but that's pretty much it. When I found out about you, I thought you must've been something pretty special since Kazuma was just hogging you to himself all day."

Yuri lowered her head humbly. No way did she make that big of an impact on Kazuma. For as long as she knew him, Kazuma was the same Kazuma—the cocky, tan, badass boy everyone wanted him to think he was. He was cocky and tan, but it was hard to believe he was badass whenever Chiyo was around.

"And it's not just Kazuma," Natsuki continued. "Kiyomi and Chiyo both love you, and Chiyo used to be afraid of everybody. Everyone who's met you thinks of you as some kind of miracle worker. I know you may not think you've done much, but trust me, Yuri, you've affected this family more than you can imagine."

Yuri shook her head. "No, I couldn't have," she said hesitantly. "I didn't do anything."

_And it's not like I did any of those things because I cared._

"I don't want to give you the wrong idea, but I don't think I'll be any good for this family." Yuri immediately got out of the bath. "It was nice talking with you, Natsuki. I think I'll turn in for the night." Yuri bowed and left before the girl could say anymore.

Once she was in her room, Yuri quickly changed into her sleepwear. Just as she finished putting on her shirt, someone knocked on the door. Kazuma slid it open not bothering to wait for permission. He leaned against the doorway with his one hand in his pocket. The other had the stuff she left in his room. "Hey, you forgot this when you left."

Yuri took it from him. "Thanks."

"No problem. I told my mom I'd check on you before you went to sleep." Kazuma paused for a moment as he scratched the back of his head. "You're okay, right?"

Yuri nodded. "Yeah... about earlier—"

"Forget about it," Kazuma said. "I'm starting to give up trying to understand girls. They're too confusing."

Yuri laughed. "Yeah, we can be."

Kazuma smirked. "'Night, then."

"Goodnight."

When Kazuma left, Yuri sighed with relief. She dug out her phone and dialed a code. Then she buried herself under the blanket. She knew she wouldn't be able to sleep now, and she knew Kiyomi would come to check on her anyway, so she wanted to at least look asleep. So while she was alone, Yuri took this opportunity to escape into her sanctuary.

* * *

><p><strong>Dan Dao – single sabre technique<strong>

**Luohan Quan – Arhat fist**

**They're two types of Shaolin Kung fu styles taught in the temples. The first one has to do with defending oneself with a sword called the Dao, a Chinese broad sword that has many other forms based off of it, such as the sabre; that's why Yuri was swinging a stake around. The second one is similiar to something Kazuma was practicing in the movie before his rematch with Love Machine. It's like boxing. When I was looking up the history of Shaolin Kung fu, I thought it'd be interesting to tell about the techniques they use in this story. And I thought it was ironic since they're Japanese!**

_**R&R!**_


	8. Chapter 8

King Kazma never thought he'd be fed up of OZ, but on his third night of probation, he was getting pretty sick and tired of it at the moment. He'd stick through it, though. Once his shift was over, he knew exactly where he was going and nothing was going to get in his way.

This time, when Kazma's shift was about over, Luka came to him.

"Anything to report?"

Kazma gave his usual reply:

"Nothing," he said with a shrug.

"Then your shift is over." But before he could escape, Luka quickly caught him. "Before you leave, Kazma, I want to warn you about Usagi."

Kazma sighed. Was he so obvious that even Luka could see it? "How do you know I'm going to see Usagi?"

"Believe me, it's too obvious."

Figures, he thought. He almost felt ashamed that he couldn't hide it. "What is it?"

"She's not in the best of moods. Something's been on her back the past few days. That's why she hasn't been around as often. She's still logged on if you want to see her, but it's better if you don't say anything to make her even more upset. But if I were you, I just wouldn't go see her at all. She hates surprises."

"What's been going on?"

"I'm afraid I don't know. But even if I did, I wouldn't be able to tell you. It's…"

"Classified. I get it. Thanks."

"Kazma, I know being oblivious of everything that happens around you can be frustrating, and we know you just want to help, but sometimes it's for the best if you just didn't pry. I'm not always told about what goes on in OZ, either, but I believe it's for the best. And whatever happens, I'm sure everything will be fine in the end. You have to have trust in your colleagues. And I hope you and I can trust each other in the future." The king looked back at the Siberian tiger in surprise. He never thought he'd be able to trust him since he worked so closely with Usagi, but he believed in the sincerity of his words and wanted to trust him, too. But there were a few things on his mind that he wanted to ask first.

As Luka began to fly off, Kazma quickly called after him. "Listen, Luka. I want to trust you, too." Luka landed on a little platform as he turned back to the rabbit. "I don't know anyone on the OSTF as well as you, Usagi, and Kei, but Usagi hates me and Kei irritates the crap out of me. So…"

Luka smirked. "Okay, Kazma. I hear ya. And as a friend, I'll show you to Usagi's Home. Come on." Kazma followed him reluctantly.

As they flew through OZ, the awkward silence between the two OZ-ecutives grew. It wasn't his thing, but Kazma didn't want to fly in the silence another second, so he started up a conversation. "So… have you and Usagi known each other long?"

The tiger only continued forward. A pregnant silence passed over them once more before he answered. "Yeah. We've known each other since OZ first came into existence. In fact, we're best friends. When we first began working for OZ, Usagi and I were assigned as partners in the maintenance department. And as time passed, we began talking to each other more frequently.

"Usagi doesn't talk to too many people on OZ, which made me very curious when you two started arguing with each other. She must think you're something special."

Kazma scoffed. "You're joking, right? We hate each other."

"No, I don't think so. I think your hatred for each other is getting in the way of something else entirely." Kazma shook his head in defiance. "Well, even so, knowing that Usagi trusts someone like you even though you practically kicked her ***, I think I can trust you as well." The tiger leapt forward, leaving Kazma behind with his thoughts.

Luka had to be joking. Usagi didn't like him. In fact, she made it very clear every time they were near each other that she hated his guts. He didn't hate her, but he wouldn't call that she-bunny much of a friend either, let alone a faithful colleague. But he couldn't tell if Luka was joking. Unlike Kei, Luka was straightforward and serious, not much of a joker at all. And since he and Usagi were such close companions, he must've known. All the cruelty he received from her, her glares, their childish disputes—it reminded him of that saying he once heard in grade school. If someone picks on you, it means they like you. Was it possible that Usagi actually… _liked_ him?

As much as he wanted to gag, Kazma didn't. What Luka said actually made some sense. And he also couldn't deny that he felt something for the she-bunny. When he first met her, Usagi immediately fascinated him. He suddenly saw her in a new light.

"Here we are." Luka's speech bubble suddenly brought him back into the virtual world. Now the two stood in front of a floating door. It had a sign that said "USAGI'S OASIS". Interesting name for a Home, King Kazma thought. And the door was plain white; it almost blended in with the white background of OZ. Couldn't these people be a little more creative with the design?

"Don't overlook the design, Kazma," Luka said. "You might be surprised by what you see inside." Luka suddenly yawned. "Well, I'm going to log off for the night. Goodnight and good luck to you, Kazma."

"Thanks, Luka."

The tiger jumped onto a platform before looking back at the rabbit. "As long as we're friends, I hope I can always confide in you. The things I tell you absolutely cannot be told to anyone else."

The white rabbit held his hands up. "You have my word," he said casually.

"Good. And just so you know, I'm a girl."

Kazma was still for a moment. Luka—that fierce, overgrown, hell of a beast that could possibly tear his limbs apart—was a girl? He would've been surprised if it wasn't for the fact that OZ was a virtual world where anyone could be anything. He should've known not to judge a book by its cover, which made him wonder about the creator behind Usagi. What if "she" was a guy? The thought made him cringe.

With his hand on the door, Kazma's fears began to grow. If he were to open the door, he wouldn't have been surprised if Usagi attacked before he could get through. Whenever an OZ player entered a friend's/colleague's Home, they were immediately informed the second the guest opened the door. Kazma had no idea what he'd do once he was on the other side; he just hoped for the best. So he took a breath, twisted the knob, and went inside.

King Kazma didn't know what to expect once he was inside Usagi's Home. Racks of swords? Bloody massacre? Lollipops? Instead, the king found that Usagi's Home was very… normal. There were many platforms floating about. Each had some form of plant life. One that had just passed had a few pinetrees that could have complied of a whole forest. Some birds flew above him. There were even puffy clouds, not the flat digital ones that appeared in the OZ mainframe. When he touched one, it dissipated and immediately reassembled as it floated away. A few meters away, Kazma could spot the she-bunny sitting on the edge of the entrance platform with her back currently facing him.

Usagi looked blissfully calm as she sat observing the environment known as her Home. Her cottontail swayed back and forth in a comforting rhythm. Kazma almost didn't want to disturb her, but he came here for a reason and he wasn't going to turn back now.

As he slowly stepped forward, Usagi's tail continued to sway and her pose was still laidback as she spoke. "How long were you going to stand there?" The white rabbit stopped. She was expecting him.

Kazma continued to walk until he was standing right behind her. "I didn't want to disturb you."

She shrugged. "It's fine. It's not like I'm doing anything."

Usagi turned to him and patted the spot on her right. Kazma was reluctant at first, but seeing her so relaxed and welcoming made him drop his guard a little bit and move towards her. He slowly sat down and propped one of his legs up so the other one was dangling over the dge. He propped his arm on his knee as he unwound. This was the first time that Usagi didn't try to kill him when he was in such close proximity. He didn't know why she was acting so lenient, but he didn't complain. It was nice sitting next to her knowing that she wasn't going to try to kick his ass.

"Why are you here, Kazma?" Usagi finally asked.

Kazma thought he knew the answer but nothing came to mind. Why _did_ he come? He had already forgotten. For some inexplicable reason, Kazma just can't stay away from her. "I don't know."

Usagi's fingers began to tap the platform lightly. "I see."

Kazma's ears twitched slightly. She didn't seem convinced by his ignorance. "Do you hate me, Usagi? Is there any reason why you despise me so much?" he suddenly inquired.

Usagi's tail stopped flickering about for a moment. Her hand stopped tapping. "No. I don't despise you. Sometimes, you just… bother me."

"Why?"

"Because of the way you act."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're too prideful in everything you do. In fact, you're so boastful, you're not satisfied with the way things are. Everything has to be your way. Sorry, but it doesn't work like that, King Kazma. Not everything can go your way." Kazma noticed her hand began tapping again, only in a faster, more irritated manner. "Things have been difficult for me lately, Kazma, but I don't complain and I work as hard as everyone else. I was suddenly given this commissioner's job—why they chose me out of all the other _professional_ avatars, I don't know—and now everyone depends on me. It's given me a purpose; I finally have something worth fighting for after these last three years and I don't plan on losing it because some n00bie who can't take his responsibilities seriously."

"Three years… because of Love Machine." Her hand stopped tapping once again, giving him his answer. The white rabbit's ears twitched in an almost angry manner. Love Machine caused a lot of harm for many people, especially his family. When Granny died, he was beyond furious. He wanted to make sure nothing like that would happen to anyone else. After three years, he never thought it would still impact someone so much. "I'm sorry."

"It's not a big deal anymore. I'm over it."

Though Kazma didn't like to pry into people's business (and vice versa), his curiosity still got the better of him. "What did he do to you?"

Silence engulfed the both of them once again as Kazma waited for an answer from Usagi. Her lifeless tail began swishing back and forth again. "You want to do something fun?"

Kazma blinked. "Uh…"

"Come on. I want to show you something." Usagi got up and leapt unto a platform with a bush. A little squirrel jumped out of it. She gave him a smug look. "What are you waiting for?"

Seeing her eagerness, Kazma smirked. "Nothing." The white rabbit stood and followed without a second thought.

They both jumped from platform to platform, which eventually turned into a fun game of Chase. Kazma tried to keep up with Usagi, but he was behind on account of the large forest platform he accidentally stumbled upon. He could see her laugh bubble from a mile away. "You got to do better than that if you want to catch up to me, rabbit!"

Kazma grunted. "Just you wait…" When he finally made it out, he found the she-bunny and zoomed past her. He looked back at her, swaggering with a cocky smile. However, the she-bunny had disappeared. When Kazma turned back, he found her underneath. And before he knew it, she snuck a kiss on his brown nose. Kazma gave her a look and wrinkled his nose. The kiss was enough to befuddle him and have him lagging further behind. Usagi was ahead again. He frowned. He didn't know how that was able to stun him, but it worked.

When he was out of that trance, Kazma flew faster to catch up to the clever she-bunny. He found himself on another platform. This was generally bigger than the rest, but it held nothing. He had many questions on his mind—why she brought him here, why she had him chase her, what Love Machine did to her—but the kiss was the biggest one. It lingered in the back of his mind as he tried to forget about it.

"What was that?" he managed to ask, though his question was more about the kiss.

"I wanted to show you my favorite part of My Oasis and thought we'd do it the fun way."

The king looked around skeptically. "Why?"

"Haven't you ever done anything out of fun, not just sport? You've got to admit what we just did was fun."

Kazma thought a moment. He couldn't remember doing anything fun on OZ. The fights and the MMA Championships were riveting, but they were more of a sport, not something he took as pleasure. But what they did—that was actually enjoyable. It was exhilarating. Suddenly, competing for _fun_ was a whole new concept for Kazma.

He gave a hearty laugh. "Yeah, I guess that was fun."

"That's why I had that match with you. Normally, no one on OZ can have private matches, but since I'm the commissioner of the OSTF, I have a few more privileges than most people. I invited you to a private battle so we could have a little fun without the presence of spectators. That's why no one knows about it." Kazma was, to say the least, impressed. "I have to admit it was a little suspicious that you just stopped playing all of a sudden. I thought King Kazma wouldn't just give up like that. But, you know, I wasn't going to let you win, either."

Kazma laughed. "Guess not. And even though you beat me again, racing you was still fun."

Usagi held a satisfied grin on her face. "Good."

"So why'd you bring me to… this?"

"This isn't what I wanted you to see. Look over there." She pointed out in front of them. Kazma looked at her dubiously. He had no idea what he was looking at, but he knew that Usagi wouldn't have him chase her here for no reason.

Then he saw the sunrise. It was the most magnificent thing that he saw on OZ. He wasn't much for sunrises or sunsets, but this was like watching the real thing unfold. It was amazing.

"Isn't it great?" Usagi sat on the edge of the platform. "I come here on occasion to unwind from everything—my job, my life, Love Machine—anything that puts stress on my shoulders. It's not the real thing, but it's as comfortable to watch knowing that it's a new day, a new chance at life. I'd watch the real thing, but I'm always asleep by then."

"It's beautiful."

"Isn't it? You're the first person to share this moment with me. Not even Luka could stay up long enough to watch. I'm glad I was able to share it with somebody."

Kazma looked away from the sight for a moment to watch Usagi. She looked absolutely at peace. And for the first time, he saw her smile. It was the most picturesque view he'd ever seen. As he continued to gaze at her, Kazma thought about what Luka said to him.

_She must think you're something special._

He—or she—was probably right. If Usagi was willing to only let him share this beautiful moment with him, then he must've meant something to her. Something really important.

As they watched the sunset, Kazma sat beside Usagi and took her hand. When he wasn't paying attention, she put her head on his shoulder.

**V.V**

When Kazuma logged off of OZ, he glanced outside the window. The sun was starting to appear. He never stayed up this late before, but he didn't regret it. He was able to get closer to an enemy who was now a friend, and the more he spent time with her, the more he wanted to know about her, to expand their relationship.

A yawn erupted from his lips, informing him to get to bed. Before he retired for the night, though, he went to his window and watched the sun come up. Usagi was right. Watching the sunrise was relaxing and comforting. And as he continued to watch, he wondered if Usagi was doing the same.

* * *

><p>Yuri didn't know how long she stayed up, but as soon as she logged off of OZ, she passed out. When she woke up, it was already noon.<p>

"Damn."

Sluggishly, the drowsy teen pulled her blanket away to prepare for the day. The rumbling of her stomach was a real wakeup call. Yuri's arms instinctively swung around her abdomen. She was_ starving_ and she had already missed breakfast. She needed to get some food into her now or she'd pass out again.

However, the only thing she had to wear was the same outfit she'd been wearing the past two days. The two day reek was already seeping in.

Her door slide open just as she tossed her smelly shirt aside. Natsuki welcomed her with a warm smile. "Good, you're up. I was just about to get you." She laughed at her disheveled state. "I'm guessing you're a night person. You slept through the whole morning and missed breakfast."

A deep grumbling from Yuri's stomach erupted. "I know," said the cranky girl.

"It's okay. You're not the only one. Kazuma's still asleep. He usually spends all his nights roaming OZ for who-knows-how long. I sent Kenji to wake him up. Now that I think about it, maybe that wasn't such a good idea. Kazuma's hates it when anyone disturbs him in his sleep. The last person to wake him up ended up…" The college student stopped when she caught a nasty scent. Then she saw Yuri's shirt. "Have you been wearing those clothes for some time?" Yuri hung her head down in shame. "It's okay. Kiyomi told me you've been staying over for the past two nights but you didn't have a change of clothes with you. Here." She tossed a white bundle to Yuri. "You can return it to me whenever you feel like it. I'll be outside when you're done." And with that, Natsuki left.

Without a second thought, Yuri put on the dress. Before she went outside to meet Natsuki, she looked over her ensemble. The dress was nice and it fit her perfectly. It was considerate of Natsuki to let her borrow something of hers. And since she was wearing something so nice, she might as well fix herself up. She doubted Natsuki would leave if she was taking too long. The young woman had already taken a liking to her just as quickly as everyone else had, but Natsuki treated her like a little sister. Maybe she felt a bit closer to the Yuri because of their age difference. Natsuki wasn't too much older than her; she looked at least 20-years-old. With time, maybe they could be good friends.

Once Yuri was done fixing herself up, she met Natsuki outside. The young woman was impressed by her sudden transformation. The disheveled teen she saw earlier was now a beautiful young lady in a dazzling white dress that complimented her short, ashen tresses, which were pulled back by a lily hair band in her hair.

"I knew this one would work," Natsuki said proudly. "When I first saw you, I just knew you'd be my size. The dress is perfect for you, Yuri. You're such a pretty girl. No doubt Kazuma will be impressed."

At the mention of Kazuma, Yuri blushed. "You think… he'd like this?"

Natsuki smiled at her. "I'm sure he'd love anything you put on, Yuri."

Suddenly, the two girls could hear oncoming bickering from across the hall. It wasn't long until they spotted two figures approaching them. Yuri recognized the agitated one on the right as Kazuma, and the one on the left must've been Natsuki's boyfriend, Kenji. He was a lanky young man for his age and quite baby-faced. He didn't seem to have much of a spine, either. Yuri heard about him on the news. Kenji Koiso, the boy who started all the commotion with Love Machine on OZ, but he was later proven innocent when he saved the world. It was hard to believe this spineless man-child was capable of such a thing.

As they came closer, Yuri and Natsuki could eventually make out part of their conversation.

"You know, you didn't have to hit me so hard."

"Well, now you know never to bother me when I'm asleep."

"How was I supposed to know you instinctively punch people in your sleep when they try to wake you up?"

"Ask Shota. I put him in the hospital when he shook my shoulder."

"How do you get up for school?"

"It's called an alarm clock, idiot."

"Sounds like they're getting along well, as usual," Natsuki muttered.

"This is… normal?" Yuri asked.

"For them. Believe it or not, these two get along really well. And when it comes to OZ—you wouldn't believe the conversations these two have. I swear Kenji spends more time on the computer than his homework." Natsuki laughed at the joke. "But I think it's good for him. Kazuma is the closest thing Kenji has to a brother. His parents are too busy to actually spend any time with him and he doesn't have any siblings, so the Jinnounchis are like a second family to him."

Yuri's eyes drooped. "I see…"

When the boys finally made it to the girls, Kenji stopped griping to greet his girlfriend with a kiss. When he saw Yuri, he held out his hand. "It's nice to meet you, Yuri. I'm Kenji Koiso."

Yuri shook his hand. "I know. Natsuki told me about you. You're the one who hacked into OZ three years ago." The comment made Kenji cringe. "I'm just kidding. Everyone knows what you did to help OZ."

Kenji rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I didn't really do much." Yuri smiled at his modesty. It was cute how shy he became when given a compliment. "Actually, I'd say Kazuma's the hero."

"And he's so humble about it," Natsuki joked. "Right, Kazuma?"

However, the 16-year-old boy was too distracted to respond. Once they approached the girls, his jaw almost dropped. Yuri looked… well, she looked very, _very_ different, for Yuri. The dress obviously didn't belong to her, but it didn't make her look any less stunning. She looked nice all cleaned up—not that she didn't look nice before, but as she stood there with her white dress, the white lily hair band, and her flawless features, Kazuma couldn't help staring.

"Don't just stand there, Kazuma," Natsuki said. "Compliment her."

It took him a few seconds to realize that he was doing just that until Yuri met his gaze. When he looked into her gray eyes, he quickly looked away, digging his hands into his pockets coolly. "You like nice… I guess." A shy blush hid under the protection of his bangs.

Yuri also looked away shyly. "Thanks." The blush on her pale cheeks was too obvious to hide.

Kenji and Natsuki exchanged glances. "Come on, you two. Let's get you something to eat."

"Okay," the two teens said simultaneously.

When they reached the kitchen, Kazuma found it to be once again empty. He wondered what the adults were talking about this time. And he was surprised Yuhei, Shingo, and Mao hadn't attacked him by now, which relieved him. He was grateful they could find something else to do besides screwing around with him.

"So, who wants what?" Natsuki said. "You can have anything you want, Yuri. Since you already missed breakfast, you get the special treatment."

"She's been getting the special treatment since she first got here," Kazuma said.

"Yes, but in order to make her feel special, we have to do something that'll make you feel less special."

Kazuma glared at her. "Gee, thanks." The tan boy went to the fridge and chose to ignore them as he prepared his breakfast.

"So while we eat," Natsuki said, "why don't we play a little game of _hanafuda koi koi_?" She pulled a small deck out of her pocket. "What do you say, Yuri?"

"Um, Natsuki," Kenji said, "Don't you think you ought to consider whether she knows how to play?"

Yuri looked away from her teriyaki and stared at the cards. "It's okay," she said. "I'm familiar with the game."

"Then are you game?"

Yuri smirked. Kazuma recognized the look on her face. In fact, it was eerily familiar. "Sure. I'm game."

**O.O**

After twelve games, Natsuki was shot. Yuri beat her bad, and all Kenji and Kazuma could do was gawk. Nobody could play _hanafuda koi koi_ better than a Jinnouchi. But Yuri just proved that wrong.

"How'd you—I mean, what'd you—_huh?_" Natsuki couldn't even grasp the words to describe how taken aback she was.

"I've never seen anyone play _hanafuda_ like that," Kazuma stated plainly. It seemed unnatural for someone outside the Jinnouchi clan to be able to play this game so tactfully—hell, he'd never seen any member of their family play like this, not even Granny. Apparently, there was more to Yuri than Shaolin Kung Fu and OZ. He wondered what other surprises this girl was hiding.

"My mom used to play with me when I was younger," Yuri explained. "We don't play that often anymore, but once Natsuki pulled out the deck, I couldn't refuse. I forgot how much fun it was. Want to play again, Natsuki?"

The young woman immediately collected the cards. "Let's take a little break from this game for a while," she said through her teeth. "How about we do something else?"

"Like what?" Kazuma asked. "There's nothing to do in this place."

"You mean besides going on OZ," Kenji said.

Kazuma glared at him. "You know what I mean."

"How about we find the adults?" Natsuki suggested.

"You two are adults."

"The _older_ ones, smart-aleck."

Yuri stopped listening to the cousins when she heard something. "I think there's someone outside." A few more voices began shouting. One was more boisterous than the rest. Kazuma could only assume it was his Sensei. "What's going on?" Yuri left the table to see what the commotion was about.

Outside, everyone, including the younger kids, was outside in a big crowd. Mansuke, who seemed to be the ringleader of the crowd, was doing all the talking and yelling for everyone, but the ashen-haired girl couldn't understand anything he was saying since he was talking so fast. Soon, Kazuma and the others joined her, showing up just as confused. No one seemed to notice them as they stood at the sidelines. Kenji was just about to ask Riichi what was going on when someone suddenly stopped the bedlam.

"We told you we're not leaving until we find Miss Takane."

Yuri stiffened in place. Kazuma saw this and took her hand. The gesture was unusual for Kazuma, but it was comforting, and the frightened girl squeezed his hand gratefully.

"And I'm telling you that she isn't here!" Mansuke replied.

"Well, according to your neighbors, a young girl has been walking here each day for several weeks and they hadn't seen her walk back in two days. Her legal guardian isn't at the apartment, either. We have every reason to believe she is still here."

Yuri gasped when she recognized the people Mansuke was yelling at. They were the same people who stopped by her house every month while Takashi was gone. Since the young attorney was always gone and she was only sixteen, they always tried to find some reason to take her into custody and send her to an orphanage, thus rendering of her inheritance. However, Takashi was always at home in time before they had the chance to kidnap her. Not this time, though.

Once her gasp was released, Yuri covered her mouth, but it was too late. Everyone heard her, including the people who were trying to take her away. The woman of the group turned and smiled once she saw her amongst her friends. "Yuri," she said, "there you are."

Yuri backed away from the woman. Kazuma moved in front of her protectively. Natsuki, who also noticed this, took Yuri's shoulder and squeezed it in assurance. Nothing would happen to her as long as the Jinnouchis were there.

"Enough of this," the man said. Obviously, negotiating with this people was a fruitless effort. He advanced towards the teens. "You're coming with us.

The man shoved past Kazuma and pulled Yuri's arm. She struggled and screamed at him as he began dragging her away. Kazuma didn't know what happened to him inside, but when he saw Yuri crying and screaming and the tears coming out of her eyes, he snapped. And before he knew it, Kazuma slugged the man.

"Stay away from her!"

Everyone stood in awe. Even Yuri was shocked.

The man wiped his lip and growled. Before he could make an attempt to retaliate, someone held him back. "Hey, Akira! Cut it out!" The man named Akira stopped struggling and pulled his arm away. When he saw the man who held him back, he scowled.

"Takashi."

Kazuma took note of the man who held back Akira. He had a head full of sleek brown hair that no longer seemed sleek. He was also wearing a suit, but his jacket was tied around his waist and his sleeves were rolled up. His lightly tanned face was relaxed yet angry. If he hadn't come, Kazuma probably would've taken another swing at Akira; this newcomer looked liked he was about to do the same. After seeing Yuri in so much pain, he couldn't control himself.

Takashi's serious expression turned friendlier. "Sorry I'm late. I let Yuri stay here for a few days while I took care of a few things."

Akira straightened his jacket as he glared at the smiley man. "Fine. I guess we have no more business here." The businessmen left without another word.

As soon as they were gone, Takashi went to the shaken girl and held her shoulders. "You okay, Yuri?" Yuri stood rigid in place not bothering to give him a response. He took it as a sign that she wasn't hurt. When he noticed there was still a crowd, the young attorney faced them with a grateful smile. "Thank you all for your help. My name's Takashi Enchi. I'm Yuri's legal guardian."

"Legal guardian?" Kiyomi spoke out. "Where are her parents?"

Takashi's eyes widened. "You didn't tell them, Yuri?" He felt Yuri's shoulders shudder.

"Tell us what?" Kazuma asked. He didn't know why Yuri was still so shaken after those men left, but this Takashi guy was the only one who knew, and he wanted answers.

The older man's hazel eyes averted to and fro as he tried to think of the right words. "You see… Yuri's parents passed away three years ago."

* * *

><p><em><strong>R&amp;R!<strong>_


	9. Chapter 9

The family was nonetheless shocked by the news. After Takashi explained the situation, they let the young man stay a while to clear some things up that happened at the house. It couldn't get any more painful for Yuri.

As the adults discussed, Yuri hid in the veranda at the back of the manor. She didn't want to be surrounded by those sympathetic faces; she hated receiving sympathy, which she made very clear when she fled the Jinnouchi clan after Takashi told them about her parents. She wanted to be alone and calm her nerves. For the time being, she just sat on the veranda huddled into a ball with her face buried in her knees and her arms around her calves. The midday ambience surrounded her with peace, with the exception of the chirping cicadas.

The veranda began to creak, indicating someone was approaching, but Yuri didn't move an inch. Kazuma calmly sat beside her, careful not to disturb her. He sat next to her for a bit, his arm coolly resided on his knee as he patiently sat with her. After a few seconds, he finally came out with the question he'd wanted to ask for some time. "Want to talk about it?"

He was met with more silence. The tan boy sighed, letting his leg fall. "You know, Yuri, you can't keep avoiding this. I knew you were hiding something, and I've been keeping the questions to myself because I had a feeling you would act this way. I recognize the look on your face whenever I brought up your parents. I know it's frustrating and I know you may not want to talk about it, but as a friend, I'd like it if you'd just talk to me. It's okay. I'm listening."

Yuri heard the sincerity in his voice. It was enough to bring her head up. When Kazuma saw that she wasn't crying, he was relieved, but he was afraid that wasn't a good thing, either.

"You gave me that look," she mumbled quietly.

"What look?"

"You know… The _look_." The only look Kazuma imagined he had on his face was the look of confusion. "I was hoping you would understand. I'm sure you got those looks when your great grandmother died. People came and gave you pity, sympathy, as if it was the worst tragedy to happen to anyone. It's painful."

Kazma nodded. It was painful, but as time passed, everyone went on, just as Granny wanted them to.

"But things were different when people found out about my parents. They just looked at me like I was a lost puppy. They thought I was helpless, like I couldn't handle myself. But I wasn't. I knew I wasn't. When my parents died, I didn't cry, not once." Yuri let her legs dangle over the veranda, and her hands held onto the edge. "Don't get me wrong, I was sad when my parents died, but I didn't see the need to cry. Even before that happened, things got harder for our family—my dad lost his dojo, we didn't have enough to provide for ourselves so we had to ask favors, we had to move into a smaller house—I was only getting accustomed to things getting worse for my family; my parents' deaths were no different a dilemma.

"The peak of it all was when my father got sick, and around the Love Machine incident three years ago, he only got worse until…" Kazuma noticed her grip on the veranda tighten. The wood creaked under the force. "When he died, my mother was completely heartbroken, and before I knew it, she was gone, too. The doctors didn't know what happened to her. I could only assume she died of a broken heart. But I didn't cry. I wasn't even sad when I saw her collapse on the floor. I just… stood there. And as much as I wanted to blame Love Machine, I didn't.

"After that, I realized that things were only going to get worse and I shouldn't waste my time just feeling sorry for myself. I was going to lose everything close to me—my family, my home, everything—and I just had to deal with it. So I just… shut myself out. No more sadness, no more self-pity, and definitely no more sympathy from others. Ever since my parents died, I've been taking care of myself _by_ myself. I was able to prove everyone, including Takashi, that I didn't need anyone to look after me. I didn't need anyone then, and I still don't need anyone now."

Kazuma sat quietly he drank this in. "So you just… shut yourself out from the rest of the world like a… like a…"

"_Hikikomori_."

"Yeah. That." It was a very familiar term to Kazuma, something he was referred to often as a child. He didn't like it; being labeled like that made it seem like he had some sort of disease. When he started getting bullied, he shut himself away from his family, and he didn't bother to tell anyone about his problem. But then his grandfather introduced him to Shaolin Kung Fu, and it built up his confidence—as well as his cockiness—to this very day. He slowly began to open up, but he still kept to himself.

"When I met your family, I remembered what it was like to be with my parents, and as I got closer to them, I remembered what it was like to lose them. That's why I ran away from your uncles. I didn't want anyone to get hurt, but I hated myself for acting like such a coward, I hated myself for not being sad when my parents died—I hate myself for being like this! And as I sat there get mad at myself, I became even angrier and I vented the only way I knew how."

"When you were sparring by yourself," Kazuma remembered. Yuri nodded.

"And then I ran into Natsuki in the hot spring last night and Kenji later today. We were having so much fun, and then those goons showed up." Yuri hugged her knees. "For years, my number one skill was adapting to terrible scenarios, like when my glasses broke, or situations like the one that happened earlier. But when I was with your family, I completely let my guard down. I thought I could be with your family without any consequences."

"So this whole time," Kazuma said, "you didn't even need your glasses anymore?"

Yuri nodded.

"You could've just left when you wanted to, but you decided to stay... to be with us." She nodded again.

"And… you liked it?"

"I… I don't know." She sunk her face under her arms until only her eyes were visible.

Kazuma thought for a moment and smirked. "Remember what you said two nights ago?" he said. "You said you enjoyed getting pampered." Yuri looked away bashfully. "I don't know if you still delusional from lack of sleep or if you were hammered or something, but I could tell you meant what you said. You can hide it all you want, but I know you enjoyed being with my family. They all love you, Yuri, and you shouldn't shut yourself out just because you think your life is only going to get worse, not when there are people out there who still care about you and want what's best for you."

Yuri held her head up a little bit. "Why do you care so much?" she mumbled.

In that instant, Kazuma smiled—a real, genuine smile—and took her hand. "Because I'm your friend, and I care about you."

When Yuri sat up again, Kazuma saw hot tears streaming down her face. "Thank you," she whimpered out hoarsely.

When she wiped her tears away, more fell and she began to sob. As she did so, Kazuma moved closer to her to put his arm around her and pulled her head into his shoulder. When she didn't pull away, he put his other arm around her in a soothing embrace. She clutched his shirt as she burrowed her face into his chest. Kazuma didn't know why he did it, but having Yuri in his arms, knowing that he could comfort her, it felt extremely right to him.

And as Yuri continued to nestle in Kazuma's embrace, she also felt right. She didn't know why, either, but she didn't want to leave his arms. She held on a little more even after she stopped crying. When she knew to let go, she pulled away from Kazuma and wiped her sore, red eyes.

"You okay now?"

She wiped her eyes and sniffed again before answering, "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Do you want to head back?"

"Yeah. I'll be okay."

Kazuma got up and offered his hand for her to take. When they were both off the veranda, they slowly began to make their way back to the rest of the Jinnouchis. As they walked, Yuri quietly said, "Kazuma?"

"Hm?"

"Thanks for that. I haven't… I've never been heart-to-heart with anyone like that since my parents died, and I've never cried in front of anyone before. It means a lot that you would comfort me even if it made you uncomfortable."

"I wasn't uncomfortable," Kazuma said. "I mean, you're not the only ones who's cried in front of people and felt embarrassed about it. When I saw you crying like that, I just…" He laced his fingers with hers. "I just wanted to be the one to stop the tears." He looked away with a blush on his face. "Man, I think that's the corniest thing I've ever said."

Yuri giggled. "It was corny, but sweet. Thank you, again."

The two continued walking quietly through the halls with their hands intertwined when Kenji and Natsuki came. "Hey, we were just looking for you two," Natsuki said. "Are you okay, Yuri?"

She nodded. "Yeah, now I am." When she said this, Kazuma's grip tightened.

Natsuki noticed this but she did nothing but smile a bit. "Takashi wants to take you home. He said you can stay a while, but you guys will have to leave."

Yuri sighed. "I understand. I guess we should spend as much time together as we can. What should we do?"

Kazuma smirked. "I have an idea."

**…**

"The poor dear," said Kiyomi. "We had no idea she was suffering so much."

"And she hid it so well," said Mariko.

"Yuri was never one to share anything with anyone," Takashi said. Kiyomi placed a cup of tea in front of him and he smiled at her gratefully. "She's always had a knack for hiding. When her parents died, she completely shut herself away. I didn't want to leave her alone when I went on my business trips, but she was able to convince me that she could take care of herself and she wouldn't take no for an answer. But then the same rats who took away her father's dojo started hunting her down again looking out for every chance they could to try and take her fortune away and send her to an orphanage."

"How awful," Kiyomi said.

"Wait, her father owned a dojo?" Mansuke asked.

"Yeah. Her father used to be the master of the Shaolin Kung fu dojo in town before it was closed down."

"The old Shaolin Kung fu dojo?" Mansuke thought for a moment. "What was her father's name?"

Takashi looked at him warily. "Hideo Takane. Why?"

"Takane!" Everyone was startled by Mansuke's sudden outburst.

"Are you familiar with them, Dad?" Naomi asked.

"Of course! The Takanes!" Everyone gave him confused looks. "Don't tell me you guys don't remember! Me and Hideo ran the dojo together. I used to take Kazuma when he was a boy before it closed down. I haven't heard from Hideo since."

Kiyomi gasped in realization. "That's right. We used to see Hideo and Tomiko all the time when we visited the manor." What Takashi told them suddenly made sense. She remembered the Takanes and their renowned children's dojo. Kazuma used to be a happier child back then. But she didn't remember them having a child of their own. "This certainly explains their sudden disappearance. We lost all contact and I forgot about them ever since."

"So, does that mean Granny also knew them?" Shota asked. "I mean, wouldn't she have mentioned something like that?"

"Maybe she forgot," Katsuhiko considered. "We all forgot, after all. There's no telling what she hasn't told us."

"Like the deed," Kunihiko muttered.

Sensing the tension in the room, Takashi slowly rose from his seat and yawned. "I supposed it's time for me to take Yuri home. I'm sure these series of events have shaken her a bit."

"Natsuki and Kenji were supposed to be looking for them, weren't they?" Kiyomi remembered. "I wonder where they…" The two young adults suddenly entered the room where everyone else was. "There you are. Did you find them?"

Natsuki grinned nervously. "They're… a little busy."

"Doing what?" Takashi asked curiously.

"Sparring," Kenji answered.

Takashi sighed. "Typical Yuri. For minute there, I thought you were going to tell me they were making out."

Natsuki and Kenji exchanged glances. "Yeah…"

* * *

><p>As soon as Yuri and Takashi were home, Yuri immediately rushed to her room. Takashi sighed. She was avoiding confrontation, again. But they couldn't keep avoiding this, especially after what happened.<p>

"Yuri, please. Let's not do this."

When she didn't respond, he barged into her room and found her huddled at the corner of her bed with a pillow clutched to her chest. He slowly approached her, afraid that she would run away once again. He sat on the bed and when she didn't move, he began to talk to her. "I wish I came sooner, Yuri. I'm glad you were at the Jinnouchi manor, otherwise those guys would've found you sooner and taken you away."

"Why'd you want me to stay away from them?" she suddenly asked.

"What?"

"You have always told me to stay away from the Jinnouchis. Why?"

Takashi ran a hand through his hair. "I was hoping to avoid this conversation for as long as possible. I guess I have no choice now." He left the room and came back a few minutes later with two boxes.

One was long and narrow, like a giant sheath, Yuri thought. And surprisingly, when he opened it, there were two sabers. They looked so ancient they could probably crack and crumble into dust from a single touch. Then there was the other box which was fatter in girth. When Takashi opened that one, Yuri saw photos, some in black and white, and others in dim color. She couldn't recognize anyone in the older ones, but then when she spotted a particular photo, she uncurled herself and reached for the picture. "Is that… Is that my grandmother?"

"I'm surprised you recognize her. She passed away when you were three. But yeah, that's her and your parents."

Yuri took another picture. It looked like the oldest one. Two young women were posed next to each other, except one was seated. The one standing looked much older than the one sitting; the sitting woman looked about ten years younger. Her hand was placed on the younger woman's shoulder sagely while she had her hands folded in her lap. Both held impassive looks on their faces. "Who are they?" she asked.

"That's your grandmother," he answered pointing to the sitting young woman. "And that's her best friend, Sakae Jinnouchi."

"Sakae Jinnouchi? Is in…?"

"Yep, the lead matriarch of the Jinnouchi clan. She passed away three years ago, around the time your parents did. Your family had close ties with them, especially your grandmother. She and Sakae were practically inseparable, even after the Takeda war."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because that's what you wanted to know, why we—your parents and I—agreed that you shouldn't get so close to the Jinnouchis." Takashi handed her another older picture. She saw three rows of men lined up with samurai armor. They held swords similar to the saber in the case next to her. On the breastplate of their armor, Yuri saw her grandmother's family symbol. "Yuri, your mother's maiden name is Takeda. Your grandmother is from the Takeda clan."

"… Why did no one tell me?"

"Because your parents, your grandmother, and Sakae wanted to keep you safe. Sakae loved your grandmother more than anything, and she vowed to protect the Takedas as long as she lived. Ever since your grandmother passed away, Sakae has been looking out for your family. Even after the war, there were many bitter clans who wanted to get after your family's fortune. Your grandmother already lost the estate before you were born, and then your father the dojo, so Sakae gave your parents the money to find a new home, somewhere safe away from those rats. She also left something in your grandmother's name, but I'm afraid I don't have it."

"So… they had us keep a distance in order to protect us?"

"To protect you. Your parents loved you, Yuri, and so did your grandmother. And Sakae considered you a part of their family."

Yuri looked back at the picture of the young Sakae and her grandmother. She didn't even realize this woman existed until she met Kazuma. Looking at her picture, Yuri felt something familiar and almost maternal. It was all so overwhelming.

"So why are you telling me this now?"

Takashi looked away hesitantly before looking into her eyes. "I wanted to tell you… before we left."

"Left? We're going somewhere?"

"Yeah. I just came back to Ueda on such short notice. I need to go back to Nagoya, Yuri, but I came here to get you first. You can't stay here any longer, not while those rats are hanging around the Jinnouchi manor."

"But… I can't leave. It's summer. I have a job—two jobs—I don't want to leave!"

"Yuri…" When he saw her bottom lip quaver, he sighed. "I'll leave you alone. But be ready by tomorrow, Yuri."

As soon as he was gone, she broke down into tears. Takashi couldn't do this to her, not now—not after everything she'd been through these past few weeks. Of course, she shouldn't have been surprised. After all, she was so accustomed to having her most precious things taken away from her. But yet it still made her incredibly frustrated, outraged, sad… She was going to lose her family again. And once again, Reality proved to be a seriously harsh bitch.

Wiping her tears away, Yuri looked at the picture one more time before putting it back into the box. Then she took out the saber and held it out. It felt right holding it in her hands. The hilt was obviously fit for a right handed person, someone small and fit like herself. Like her mother and her mother before her. She brandished it about when she noticed her laptop.

Yuri put the saber away and sat at her desk gazing upon the PC. Once she and Takashi were gone, she'd barely have any time on OZ. She wouldn't be able to talk to her friends or do her job. She glanced at the picture frame next to her PC. "I'm sorry, Mom and Dad. I failed." With a shaky sigh, Yuri entered into the OZ for the very last time.

**...**

Usagi sat on her little platform entry to her Home. She knew if she waited long enough, King Kazma would come eventually. For some reason, the white rabbit was enthralled by her; he couldn't stay away from her. At first, it was really annoying and every time he came around her all she wanted to do was pound him into the ground, especially after he defeated her in the OSTF initiation, but as she spent more time with him, the challenges became more fun and Kazma began to grow on her; maybe they could be friends. Too bad that would be over soon enough.

It wasn't long until King Kazma finally showed up. He took his usually spot next to her, propped his foot up and put his elbow on his knee as his palm rested on his cheek. It was nice, just sitting here in the peace and quiet, which was why it was going to be harder for Usagi to talk to Kazma.

"Kazma… how's about a race?"

The white rabbit glanced at her dubiously. "What?"

"You know, a race. Let's have a private run in the Midnight at Tokyo place."

He looked at her suspiciously. "You've never challenged me so suddenly before. What's this about?"

"Nothing. Why is it so suspicious that I want to have a little race? You haven't already forgot about what I said about having fun, did you? Don't tell me King Kazma's a stick in the mud."

Kazma was still not convinced, but he decided to humor her. "Alright. Let's race."

The two left Usagi's Home and went to the arcade where they entered the Midnight at Tokyo room. The rules were the same. Everything was like it was when they first faced each other. Except this time, Usagi didn't seem very game at the moment. In fact, as she stood the way she always stood when she readied herself for a challenge, King Kazma couldn't help notice the melancholy in her gray eyes. Not that they could tell since they were online characters, but he could still feel some gloom coming from her.

_**3... 2... 1... BEGIN!**_

The course was the same. Same creatures, same obstacles, same game. But Usagi was more determined than ever to win this time. She jumped past all the creatures and left them to Kazma as she tried to get to the buzzer. She didn't even bother to take out her scythe. It was strange, but he continued to ignore it. And he wasn't going to let her go so easily.

Once he reached the buzzer, Kazma found Usagi on the other side of it several meters away, waiting. Then he saw the look in her eyes. "What's going on, Usagi? You're acting strange."

Instead of answering, Usagi brought out her scythe and aimed it at him. "Let's make the best of this, Kazma."

"What do you—" The scythe nearly slashed his chest, but the white rabbit was able to dodge it in time.

"Sorry, Kazma. I just thought that it would be fun to spend my last day on OZ as an OZ-ecutive being with you."

"Your last day? What are you talking about?" Usagi swung at him, and Kazma jumped out of the way once again. "Usagi!"

"I didn't want to tell you until the challenge was over, but I'm no longer going to be your commissioner. I'm not capable of doing my job—I never was. It was nice working with you even if it was for a short while."

King Kazma kicked at her, but she was able to jump away in time. "You don't know what you're talking about, Usagi. You're more than capable of being the commissioner. Nobody's nearly as capable as fulfilling that task, not even Luka."

A small grin formed at the corner of her. "I'll be sure to tell him that. And thank you, Kazma, but nothing you say will change my mind."

He looked back into her eyes, seeing traces of hopelessness and sorrow. "But Usagi… you can't…"

"It's already been done. I sent my resignation. It was nice working with you. I'm glad we could have this one last moment together." He didn't even notice until it was too late, but throughout their effortless spar, Usagi was able to make her way next to the buzzer. With her hand hovering over the button, Usagi smiled at the white rabbit with the most compassion he had ever seen on her face. "Goodbye, Kazuma."

Before he could even make a move, Usagi pressed the buzzer, and King Kazma was returned to his Home, the screen going black.

**O.O**

"Hm…"

"Kei, please stop squirming," Kiko said as she was putting eye drops into Kei's eyes. The poor Shiba Inu was whimpering like a puppy. "Sorry, girl. I know it's painful, but you need these drops to help with your cataracts." Kiko petted her headed in apology.

"Hm… interesting…"

"What is it, Mr. Takeuchi?"

"… Kiko, I've noticed that you don't address me by my first name."

The secretary looked at her boss dubiously. She thought he was thinking of something more important, but Mr. Takeuchi had his moments. "I just don't think it would be professional, sir."

"Professional or not, I consider us more than just employer and employee. We've known each other long before I started this foundation and I trust you far more than my other associates. I even let you put in Kei's eye drops."

"Yes but that's a part of my job description, sir."

"But Kei doesn't let just anyone do that." The dog barked to reaffirm this.

"Well… if that's what you want, I'll start addressing by your first name from now on."

"Good. Now come look at this, Kiko."

His assistant did as she was told and went over to her boss's computer. "What is it?"

"It's a resignation letter from the commissioner of the OZ Security Task Force."

"What? Then… who's keeping the OZ-ecutives in check?"

"Not to worry, my dear little assistant. This is all just a misunderstanding."

"Oh. So, the commissioner didn't send a resignation?"

"No, they did. On their personal stationary and everything. They also momentarily suspended their account."

Kiko looked up at her boss in confusion. "Then how is it a misunderstanding?"

Mr. Takeuchi opened up the first drawer in his chest and pulled out two files. "I've been monitoring the commissioner's relationship with our newest recruit, King Kazma. They seem very close. Now, I have a few theories as to why she would resign, but then I remembered her file. Usagi doesn't want to resign. This job means everything to her."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I know the people behind King Kazma and Usagi, and I know just how to fix this problem. Since the commissioner quit, I doubt King Kazma wants anything to do with the OSTF now, and they're both very essential assets to the group. But if Kei were to bring them together and convince them to fix the problem…"

The white dog looked up when she heard her name. She had no idea what her master was planning, but she had a feeling things were about to get more exciting.

* * *

><p><em><strong>R&amp;R!<strong>_


	10. Chapter 10

Kazuma looked blankly at his laptop screen. Usagi knew his name; she knew who he really was. At first, he thought it was a mere typo—people misspelled his and King Kazma's names all the time—but the she-bunny's goodbye was so sincere, he'd have to be brain dead to not realize that Usagi was talking to him, not his avatar.

He shouldn't have been surprised. After the Love Machine incident on OZ, the Jinnouchi clan became more well-known worldwide, and King Kazma's reputation inflated on the worldwide web. But there were still many people who were oblivious of the guy behind King Kazma 2.0, which made him relieved. Only real competitors were aware about stuff like that. And Usagi was a real competitor. If only he knew who she really was. He had a feeling she was familiar, yet he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Kazuma." He closed his laptop before his mother came into his room. "What are you still doing up so late?"

"I… couldn't sleep."

His mother smiled sympathetically at him before entering and sitting beside him on his bed. "Are you worried about Yuri?"

He shrugged. He wasn't really sure. She started feeling a lot better after they sparred a little, but he couldn't forget the look on her face when she left with that Takashi guy. That smile didn't fool him; Yuri was officially the worst liar in the world. He thought about calling her later that night, but he didn't want to bother her. "I… Yeah, I guess I am worried about her. She's had it rough. I just hope she's okay."

"I'm sure she's alright." Kiyomi kissed his cheek before getting up from the bed. "Go to bed, Kazuma. I'm sure you'll see her tomorrow. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Mom."

As soon as he was gone, Kazuma looked back at the blank screen of his laptop. He thought about going against his mother and logging back onto OZ, but he was sure Usagi wouldn't answer him if he tried to contact her. He logged on anyway. However, when he tried to get to Usagi's Home, she wasn't there. When he tried again, a note appeared on the screen:

_**This Homepage has been momentarily suspended. All contact is prohibited. If you try to enter this Homepage again, your Homepage will also be temporarily suspended.**_

_**Have a nice day :)**_

Kazuma sighed. He wasn't going to take that risk.

As soon as he closed his laptop, Kazuma pinched the bridge of his nose. He wished he knew what was going on, and the more he thought about it, the more frustrated he became. He decided not to ponder on it until the next morning.

* * *

><p>The next day, the Jinnouchi manor was too quiet. Normally, Kazuma appreciated the silence, but today, it was just too solemn. He didn't like it.<p>

He knew why everyone was acting so depressed. They were still upset about what happened yesterday. Everyone was worried about Yuri, but they couldn't compare to how Kazuma felt inside. He was torn between what happened to Yuri yesterday and what happened with Usagi online last night.

As soon as he entered the kitchen, he found his mom, Chiyo, Naomi, and Rika sitting around in the kitchen. Aunt Mariko was wandering about the kitchen as if she were about to prepare something for the whole family, but every time she opened a cabinet, she didn't take anything out. From the kitchen he saw most of the guys lounging around in an almost contemplative state. His Sensei looked truly angry; he looked like he could burst at any minute. Yuhei, Shingo, Mao, and Kana sat around their fathers with gloom on their faces. Now Kazuma regretted entering the kitchen.

As soon as they noticed him, Kiyomi got out of her chair to greet her son. "Good morning, Kazuma. Are you hungry?"

He shook his head. "Where are Kenji and Natsuki?"

"Right here." The couple was standing right behind the tan boy. They didn't look so good, either. "Kazuma, can I talk to you?" Natsuki asked.

He didn't say anything as he followed her into the hallway. They continued until they were out of earshot. "What?"

"Have you talked to Yuri yet?"

"Why do you care?"

"Because I know what kind of girl Yuri is. We all do."

"Natsuki, you don't know anything about Yuri," Kazuma interrupted disdainfully. "And don't pretend like you do."

"I'm not pretending," she said firmly. "I know because she's exactly like you. When people recognize how extraordinary she is, she just doesn't want to show it. And whenever something bad happens to her, she shuts herself out from the people who care about her. You used to do the exact same thing when you were younger. But she doesn't hide anything from you. I saw the looks on your faces yesterday after you talked to her. I'm sure you mean more to her than you think. And maybe I don't know her that well, but I do there is one person who could relate to her." She gave him a suggestive look. "You should tell her how you feel before it's too late."

Kazuma scoffed. "Too late for what? It's not like she's going anywhere. And just because she came running to me to deal with her issues doesn't mean that I mean anymore to her than Takashi or Chi or anybody else."

Natsuki smirked. "I don't remember her running to you to talk about her issues, Kazuma. In fact, didn't you chase after her after the incident yesterday?"

"Whatever! What do you want from me!" he suddenly exclaimed. "I've never had to deal with girls or their issues before! It's difficult, and you girls are just so damn confusing! But for some reason I can deal with Yuri because Yuri… Yuri's different. I can deal with Yuri because she… she's not like other girls." Kazuma sighed. "She's not as frustrating or annoying like the girls at school or the women in this house. She's special. I've never met anyone like her. And whenever I'm around her, I feel different, too, but I can also be me. I don't have to hide anything from her." His heart pounded and his head felt like it was going to explode. He never felt this way before—except when it came to Yuri.

His eyes widened in realization. "Shit."

Natsuki smiled. "Congratulations, Kazuma. You're no longer in denial."

Suddenly, Kenji rushed into the corridor where they were standing. "Yuri's here."

Natsuki nearly laughed when she saw the look on Kazuma's face. He looked like a scared puppy. "Come on. Yuri's not going to wait forever."

No, Yuri wasn't going to wait, he thought. So what was he waiting for?

**V.V**

Yuri never felt so terrified in her whole entire life. Nothing compared to this moment. She was going to say goodbye to only people who have ever made her feel like family since her parents' parting. It took all of her strength to not cry.

Black fit perfectly for this day. She was about to lose something she cared deeply about, again. A family, friends, Kazuma…

After they visited her parents' graves, Takashi agreed to take her to the Jinnouchi manor so she could give a proper goodbye. It was exceptionally quiet in the area as they drive up the mountain range, but it added to the grave situation. When they were at the entrance, Yuri's eyes began to tear up but she quickly cleared them.

She chose to go in by herself. Takashi agreed and waited in the car. As she approached the manor, Hayate ran up to her. For an old dog he was still filled with so much energy. "Hey, Hayate." She petted the dog lovingly. He licked her hand and nuzzled against it as if he sensed her melancholy.

"Yuri." She looked up and saw the rest of the family standing at the entrance. Kenji, Natsuki, and Kazuma seemed to have been missing from the group.

"Hi, everybody."

"Why are you dressed like that?" Shingo asked. His mother shushed him abruptly.

"We went to see my parents' graves today," she explained. "The anniversary of their death isn't for another two weeks, but since we won't be back for a while we decided to see them today."

"What do you mean you won't be back for a while?" Katsuhiko asked.

"Are you going somewhere?" Kiyomi asked.

Yuri nodded timidly. "I'm going back to Nagoya with Takashi."

"What?"

"Why are you leaving?"

"How long will you be gone?"

"Everyone, stop bombarding the poor girl with all these questions," Mariko scolded.

"It's okay, ma'am." Yuri walked away from Hayate who was waving his tail sadly. "I wanted to ask for a request before I leave. Could I… May I please see Miss Sakae? I never got to say goodbye to her around the time of her passing because of my parents'…" She began to choke up.

Mariko put a hand on her shoulder consolingly. "Of course. Right this way."

Everyone moved out of the way as Mariko led Yuri to Sakae Jinnouchi. As they walked, the path suddenly became very familiar to Yuri. It was the same path Kazuma showed her the first day they began working on their summer work, but something felt different, more recurring. When she saw the picture of old Sakae Jinnouchi herself, Yuri's memory suddenly came back.

_She didn't know where she was and she didn't care at the moment. Her only focus was on the picture frame hanging over her. She could barely see it since it was towering over her, but that just made her even more fascinated._

_She suddenly heard voices, familiar voices. The picture frame was immediately forgotten. She ventured the halls until she a sliver of light coming from the wall. The wall was actually a pair of paper doors._

_She looked through the sliver of door that was open. She recognized her mother and her father. She saw another person kneeling, but she didn't know them at all._

"_We're truly grateful for this, Sakae," she heard her father say. "After everything you've done for us, you're still so generous."_

"_Ever since my mother passed away, it's been especially hard," her mother said. "We don't want anything to happen to our little Yuri."_

"_I can assure nothing will happen to that sweet little angel." This voice belonged to the stranger. It was elderly, like her grandmother, but she knew it wasn't her grandmother. "You all will always be family to me just as Emiko will always be even beyond death."_

"_However can we repay you, Sakae?"_

_The elderly waved her hand. "You owe me nothing, Tomiko. All I want is to see the birthday girl before you leave."_

"_Your birthday's tomorrow, isn't it, Sakae?"_

"_Why yes, it is…"_

_She stopped listening when saw the adults getting up from the floor. She was about to retreat when she suddenly spotted a figure standing around the corner. It was a boy. He looked about her age. He was tan and his black hair covered up most of the right side of his face. When he saw her watching him, he hid further behind the wall._

_She wanted to call out to him, but she before she could, someone called out, "Kazuma!"_

_The little boy looked at her one more time before running to the voice. Before she could follow him, the doors before her opened, revealing an elderly woman in a yellow morning glory yukata. "Yuri…"_

"Yuri."

She called back to reality when Mariko put a hand on her back. She sucked in a gasp when she realized where they were. They were standing in the same hall with the same doors next to the same corner where her memory was. Everything was the same. She couldn't believe she forgot all of it. She had been here before. It was all just lost in the back of her head. Now that she was here, it only made her feel closer to the family, which only made her sadder.

"Take as long as you want," Mariko said.

"Thank you," Yuri said quietly. She was still holding back the tears.

When she was finally alone, Yuri faced the doors. Her hands shook as she reached to slide them apart. On the other side she saw a small table standing in the center of the room. A picture of Sakae Jinnouchi sat on the little table. It was surrounded by morning glories. Everyone must've loved the old woman to have made this lovely sanctuary just for her.

Yuri closed the doors behind her when she was in the room. She knelt in front of Sakae's picture and folded her hands together. Her fingers were fumbling so much her hands were practically sweaty. She couldn't believe how nervous she was. It was only a picture; it wasn't like she was going to be talking to the real live Sakae Jinnouchi. This should be easy, she thought to herself, like talking to her parents.

"Um, hi, Lady Sakae. I-I don't really know how to address you. I only met you once. I thought I didn't know you, but then when Ms. Mariko took me here, I remembered… everything. You knew my parents—you knew my family. You've us helped through so much and I wasn't even aware of it. I was so young when I first saw you; it's no wonder I didn't remember you or this place until now. It feels homey."

Yuri groaned. She didn't want to do this, but she couldn't stop. She needed closure. "I wish this didn't feel so right. I don't know how this family does it, but the Jinnouchis are just the most wonderful people I've ever met. Everyone's so nice and friendly and fun to be with. And Kazuma… I've never felt anything like this for anyone before." She put a hand to her chest and felt her rapid heartbeat. Nope, she had never felt this way before she met Kazuma. She suddenly remembered the tan little boy with the bangs that hid his right eye. She would miss that handsome face so much.

"I don't want to leave, but I know you and my parents and my grandmother would want what's best for me. And Takashi thinks that's best for the time being. But I can take care of myself. I have been for three years." She sighed. "If only those stupid rats didn't show up here. I wouldn't have to move away if it wasn't for them. I wouldn't have to be separated from this family or from Kazuma… Aw, damn it!"

Yuri slammed her fist into a fit of rage. The act shook the table, accidentally knocking over the picture frame off the edge. The back came loose and the picture began to escape. "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to do that!" When she picked the frame to try and fix it, she saw something else protruding from the frame. It was a thin envelope—with her name on it.

She stared at the envelope for looking at the framed picture in her hands. "Wow, quick response," she said. "I hope it's not an angry complaint for knocking you over because, again, I'm really sorry about that. I was just angry because… I'm losing my family, again." She fixed the frame and put it back on the table where it belonged. "I'm glad I could talk to you before I left. I wish I could've known you better, but having this chat was just as nice. Goodbye, Lady Sakae. Oh, and say hi to my grandmother for me."

After she exited the room and closed the doors, she held the envelope to her chest. If Sakae took such drastic measures just to keep this letter hidden from everybody else, there had to be something important inside. Yuri hid it in her person for the time being.

As she began to leave, she saw a familiar tan boy standing just around the corner. It was like déjà vu. "Hey, Kazuma."

"Hey, Yuri," he said. His hands were in pockets, as usual, but his shoulders were slumped pathetically. "I've been… looking for you. Why are you dressed in black?"

"I visited my parents earlier today," she answered timidly. "I thought it would be a good time to see them since I'm leaving."

"Everybody's been saying you're going somewhere and you won't be coming back for a while. I guess it's true, huh?" Kazuma sounded angry, and not the annoyed anger that Yuri once saw after she accidentally kicked him in the face or whenever his little cousins jumped on his back. "What's going on? Why are you leaving Ueda? Is it because of those guys that came by earlier?"

"No. I mean, sort of. It's hard to explain."

Kazuma sighed. He knew this wasn't going to be easy. Yuri was never the best liar, but fudging the truth out of her was the most difficult task ever. She was as hard as a rock. "Yuri, I want to help you. The whole family does."

She shrugged. "There's nothing any of you can do. I'm leaving, and I don't know when I'll be coming back." She suddenly pulled him into a hug. Kazuma didn't normally take hugs well, but the feel of Yuri in his arms suddenly brought back the warmth he missed so much. Once he let go, this warm feeling would be gone. He was going to make this moment last for as long as he could.

Finally, Yuri let him go. Kazuma had never felt so cold. "It was nice working with you," her quivery voice said. "I'm glad we could have this one last moment together—in person." Then she kissed his cheek. She refused to look into his eyes. "Goodbye, Kazuma."

As left, Kazuma stood in the hallway completely stupefied. What did she mean by that—in person? And her farewell, it was the exact same thing Usagi said to him last night. "No way," he said to himself. "There's no way that she… I mean she does have a job on OZ, but I never thought it was _that_…" But as he thought about it, it made more sense. Usagi's moves were similar to Yuri's fighting style. The roundhouse kick was their signature move. And the day he saw Yuri sparring with a piece of wood, it was like watching Usagi use her scythe. It was like they were the exact same person…

"Shit…!" Kazuma ran after the hoary-haired girl. However, by the time he was outside, Yuri was already making her way towards Takashi's car. "Yuri! Yuri, wait!" She was practically in the car when he stopped at the entrance. "YURI!"

Yuri looked up at Kazuma. She waved at him briefly before closing the door. As Kazuma watched them drive away, he cursed himself for not saying the thousands of other things he wanted to say to her. "Damn it!" He never even got to say how he really felt about her.

**...**

"Are you okay, Yuri?"

"I'm fine, Takashi, really."

Takashi looked at Yuri through the rearview mirror. Her head was down but he could still see she didn't look really fine. He decided not to brood on it and looked ahead at the road.

Unbeknownst Takashi, Yuri was actually looking down at the letter she found in Sakae's picture frame. Slowly, she loosened the string that sealed the envelope, toying with the idea of opening it or not. She wondered what Sakae had to say to her. When string finally came loose, she slowly lifted the flap and took out the folded paper. When she unfolded it, the first words she saw already made her feel closer to the old woman:

_Dear Yuri,_

_If you are reading this, you're at an age where you have a lot of questions. I'll be sure to answer as many as I can._

_First, I'd like to apologize. I wish I could talk to you in person, but as you're probably already aware, I have passed long ago. But that does not mean I am no longer with you. You may not remember, but you and your family have really close ties with the Jinnouchi clan. The Takeda clan has been in protection of our clan for as long as I can remember. Your grandmother and I were especially close. We both agreed your protection was priority since you are one of the last heirs to the Takeda clan. There are still many clans out there bitter from years of war, so we had to do everything we could to keep you safe._

_Which leads me to explain why you can't remember the Jinnouchi clan. You never met any other members besides myself, but if you are reading this now, I know that you have now. Knowing the shy little girl I met that day I know my family may leave a funny impression on you. Do not be afraid of them, dear. The Jinnouchi clan is filled with many unique characters with big hearts. You can always trust on them._ _And I know you'll really get along with Kazuma. He's a stubborn young man, but he's a big softy on the inside. You can always rely on him; he is a true friend._

Yuri smiled at that part. Didn't she know it.

_As for your family, they loved you very much. I'm afraid your grandmother didn't leave you an inheritance. You are not the only Takeda out there, Yuri. Your family is closer than you think. And as long as you remember that, you'll never be alone._

_Sakae_

The letter ended there. Yuri let go of the breath she didn't know she was holding in. So she wasn't the only member of the Takeda clan. She wondered why her parents never told her.

Just when Yuri thought that her question would remain unanswered, Yuri found another sheet of paper attached to it. This one was a letter from her grandmother.

_Yuri, from the moment you were born I knew you were a Takeda. I know you'll grow up to be a strong, extremely bright young woman. But even with you're strength, you cannot hold all your burdens on your shoulders by yourself. As you grew, I could already see the Takeda persistence in you. You're so much like your mother. And hopefully, you'll find someone who will hold those burdens with you for better or for worse, just as your father did for her._

One person came to mind when Yuri read that part. She felt her eyes tear up, but she held them back strongly.

_Like Sakae said, I didn't leave you with an inheritance. But there is someone you should meet…_

Yuri stopped reading at that part when the car suddenly came to an abrupt stop. "What the hell?" Takashi said. "Who's car is that?" Yuri looked up and saw a black Prius hybrid sitting in front of their apartment.

A white fox-faced dog was sticking its head out the window. When it spotted them, it barked. Yuri blinked. "That looks like…"

**O.O**

"Where do you think he went?"

"I don't know. Whenever Kazuma's upset, he could be anywhere."

Kenji suddenly stopped. "I think I heard something coming from over there."

Natsuki began leading the way when she recognized the corridor. It wasn't long until they found Kazuma's room. They didn't wait to open the door and were surprised to find his room a mess. The tan boy looked up at his cousin before hiding his face in his folded arms on top of his knees again. When Yuri was gone, he retreated to his room to vent out his frustrations leaving his room in this complete jumble of chaos.

Natsuki sighed sadly. "Oh, Kazuma. I'm so sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?" he mumbled. "You were right. I waited too long. And now she's gone."

Kenji and Natsuki exchanged sad looks. They didn't realize how much Yuri meant to him until now, seeing him a total mess like this. "Kazuma—"

Suddenly, Yuhei, Shingo, and Mao stormed into Kazuma's room. They were all speaking at once and their voices were so frenetic the older three couldn't understand anything they were saying. Finally Natsuki screamed, "SHUT UP!" Once the three were quiet, she calmly asked, "Now, what's so urgent that you three had to come in here and make all this racket?"

"There's a group of strange people in front of the manor!" said Mao. "Like the people who came yesterday!"

The three older ones looked at each other before leaving Kazuma's room with the kids following close behind. Once outside they all saw a familiar scene. The whole family was standing together shouting and saying things to the interlopers who wanted something from their family.

"Who is it now?" Natsuki asked.

"It can't be the people from the other day," Kenji said. "Yuri isn't even here." Kazuma growled under his breath. Those people had a death wish if they decided to come back so suddenly.

When they finally reached the front of the crowd, Kazuma saw that they were a different group of suit monkeys. If they weren't the ones from yesterday, Kazuma could only assume they were the people trying to get Granny's manor and the rest of her property.

"We've told you a thousand times before that this house and this property will remain the property of the Jinnouchi clan!" By his Sensei's subtle statement, Kazuma knew his assumption was correct.

"By law, this land belongs to no one that doesn't have the deed, and we've already gained permission to take over this property."

Kazuma already had enough of these people. He had already suffered enough grief today and the last thing he needed was to be kicked out of his home. He was just about ready to punch all their lights out when Natsuki suddenly held him back. When he looked at her, he was surprised to find a smile on her face. She pointed out to show what she was so smiley about. At first, he thought it was a car, but there was something white and black in front of it. His eyes widened when he recognized the ashen-haired girl. "Yuri?"

"Wait!" It was her crying out to them, pedaling like hell just to get to the Jinnouchi manor. She was going so fast, when she skidded to a stop in front of the businessmen, her bike tipped forward. Everyone was surprised to see her, except for Natsuki, Kenji, and Kazuma, who were extremely thrilled to see her.

"Yuri, what are you doing here?" Kiyomi asked.

The weary girl took a few seconds to get her breath back before answering. "You can't take the Jinnouchi manor away! You have no right!"

"Of course we do. We have permission—"

"Pardon me gentlemen." Everybody turned to see the new stranger. He was a handsome man who wore a black suit that looked more exquisite than the ones the other men were wearing. His hair was just as white as Yuri's even though he didn't look a day over thirty, and his eyes were just as gray. Behind him, Takashi and a young woman stood next to a white Shiba Inu with a red bandana around its neck that seemed oddly peculiar to Kazuma. "But who exactly gave you permission to take away this humble family's home because I was never informed."

"And who are _you_?"

"Kenta Takeuchi, the rightful owner of this fine manor." The young gentleman held out a piece of paper as proof: the lost deed to the manor. "Now, who are you gentlemen?"

The men said nothing. Two of them turned away sheepishly while the leader cleared his throat and adjusted his tie. "We're sorry to have bothered you folks. We'll be on our way."

Once the men left, Kenta chuckled. "That's always fun." He turned to the Jinnouchi clan, who looked extremely baffled by that scene. "I'm sorry about that little misunderstanding, folks. If I'd known about this, I would've come sooner."

"Now hold on," Mariko said. "Who are you and how did you come in possession of the deed?"

Kenta blinked childishly before he laughed. "Oh, I apologize. I guess I should explain myself. My name's Kenta Takeuchi. These are my friends, my dearly assistant Kiko and my trust companion—"

"Kei," Kazuma finished. The dog barked as if to tell him he was correct. He face-palmed. "Ah, crap. You're that damn five-tailed fox on OZ, aren't you?"

"Correct, young man, or should I say, King Kazma." He winked at the young man.

"You still haven't explained how you got the deed to the manor!" Mansuke hollered.

"I'm afraid that's a long story."

"Then keep it short!" Shota shouted.

"As you wish." Kenta held out his hand. Kiko, his assistant, handed him a very riffled file. "For as long as I can remember, I've spent my life working to the bone. Of course, I couldn't start this endeavor without some kind of inheritance. My aunt Emiko gave me this, courtesy of the Takeda clan." He took out a piece of parchment from the file and handed it Mariko.

When she read the contents, she gasped. "What is it, Mom?" asked Rika.

"This is… Mother's signature."

"WHAT?" The whole family suddenly crowded around the old woman to peek at the piece of paper.

"You're… from the Takeda clan?" Mansuke said. Everyone looked at the gentleman in astonishment.

"I know this must be shocking to you all," Kenta said. "Takeda clan supposedly died out a long time ago during the war, but in order to survive we had to go into hiding, especially since there are still some bitter clans out there. That's why I changed my surname a few years ago.

"Lady Sakae has been a great deal of help to my family. Since this house originally belonged to us, she thought it would be better if the Takedas took it back, so she gave it back to her best friend, my aunt Emiko. It was the only heritance she could afford to give to her only nephew, who had nothing.

"Communication is important, especially when it comes to family. That's what I believe, at least. Being alone, I never wanted anyone to suffer the way I did. That's why I spent several years developing the most intricate yet simple online communication site for not just the fellow people of Japan but also for the rest of the world. It came to me in a dream. You could talk to anyone around the world and there were no repercussions. It's my best accomplishment."

Kenji's eyes dilated in realization. "You… created OZ?"

Kenta smiled proudly. "Well, co-created, but I am the CEO, Kenji Koiso."

"But…" Kazuma looked at Yuri, who was standing in the back with Kiko and Kei this whole time. "What does this have to do with…"

Kenta followed Kazuma's gaze and smiled. Yuri came up and joined Kenta, allowing him to put a hand on her shoulder. "The many accounts created on OZ are immediately recorded and filed. I basically have all access to everyone's personal information. Through these files, I was able to find that I wasn't the only member of the Takeda clan out there. It turns out my aunt Emiko also had a daughter who was married to a Shaolin Kung Fu master who owned a little dojo in the humble town of Ueda. They both passed away three years ago, and I almost gave up my search until I found out they had a daughter of their own, my niece and the commissioner of OZ's newest security system, Yuri Takane."

Everyone then looked at Yuri. "So, you're also from the Takeda clan?" asked Kiyomi.

She nodded. "Yes. I didn't find out until recently, though. When Kenta explained everything to me, I had to get back here as fast I could before it was too late."

"And once I found her, I had to give her this." Kenta gave the deed over to Yuri. "I've kept it safe and sound on my person until I could find the rightful owner. It's yours now, Yuri."

Yuri looked down at the piece of paper as if it would detonate any second. "B-But Kenta…"

"You don't need to worry, Yuri. I have plenty of riches of my own now. You can do what you want with this. The manor's yours now."

Yuri shook her head. "No, it's not." She walked over to Mariko and carefully put the deed into her frail hands. "It's yours. This place has been more of a home to this family than it has been to the Takeda clan. You deserve it more."

Mariko gave her a watery smile. "Thank you, Yuri. There's nothing in the world we can do to repay you for this."

"I know." She looked back at Takashi. "I have to go now."

Natsuki elbowed Kazuma's arm, reminding him to do what he couldn't a few hours ago. He rubbed his arms begrudgingly before running after her. "Yuri, wait." She stopped. Once they were face to face, they both blushed. Kazuma rubbed the back of his head nervously. "So… you were Usagi this whole time." She nodded shyly. "And you knew I was King Kazma."

"Well, yeah. Everyone knows that."

"You'd be surprised by how many people don't know."

Yuri tucked a stray behind her ear sheepishly. "I guess I should've told you who I was from the beginning. I'm sorry I gave you such a hard time."

"That's okay. It was kind of fun, even when I was getting my butt kicked by a girl."

She giggled. "I hope we're still okay."

"Yeah, we are." Yuri glanced back at Takashi, who was waiting humbly. She took a shaky breath before looking back at Kazuma. "I really don't want to leave. You and your family…" She looked back at the smiling crowd of wonderful people she got to meet the past few weeks. "You guys are amazing."

Kazuma sighed sadly. Before he could speak, he felt a chilly feeling crawl up his spine. Now he realized why he couldn't say anything to Yuri before; he was scared out of his mind. Of course, Kazuma was never really good at expressing his feelings. But for Yuri, he'd do anything.

"Yuri…" he began. "I … I really don't want you to leave either, but I can't stop you from going anywhere. I also think you giving up your position as the OSTF commissioner was also a big mistake, but I can't make that decision for you, either. Seeing you go is going to be the hardest thing I've ever done, especially since I've never met anyone like you. You're one of a kind and... I'm going to miss you." He heard his aunts squeal in delight in the background, but he ignored it. "And I don't know when you'll return, so before you go…" He put a hand on her cheek and slowly craned his head until their lips met. When they separated he smiled. "I'm not really good at expressing my feelings, so I hope you understood that."

Yuri's eyes began to tear up, but her smile didn't falter. "Y-Yeah. That was pretty clear." That was their first kiss, ever. That would be one more thing she would miss; the thought made her tear up more. Damn Reality. She didn't want to leave this. She _couldn't_ leave this. The Jinnouchi clan was the best thing to ever happen to her—and Kazuma was even more so. How could she give that up?

"I agree with Kazuma." The two turned to Kenta, and they both when they realized he, along with the rest of the family, was watching them the whole time. "I couldn't find a better commissioner in a million years. It's a shame you suddenly quit." He took out another slip of paper from the file he was still holding. "When I found out why, I was going to have your legal guardian sign this so the Takeda clan could be a family again." He handed it over to Yuri.

The rest of the family went over to see what they were looking at. "Adoption papers?" Kiyomi said.

Kenta nodded. "But I can see that these people are your real family."

Yuri and Kazuma exchanged glances. When she saw Takashi join Kenta's side, she went over to him. "Takashi, you already signed this?"

He smiled at her. "I know how much you want to stay here in Ueda. I don't want to take you away from something you love, not when there are other options." He put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm okay with it, Yuri. This is your choice. And I'm sure the Jinnouchis will take good care of you."

She didn't wait a second to wrap her arms around his neck and kiss his cheek. "Thank you, Takashi." Then she went over to Kenta and did the same. "Thank you, Kenta."

"Anything for you, kiddo," Takashi said. "But I'm still going to be checking in on you every month."

"And I expect you to return to your position as commissioner," Kenta said. Suddenly, something began beeping. Kenta looked at his wrist. "Well, I must be on my way. I have a meeting to get to. Now you don't hesitate to contact me."

"I won't." Kei decided to join the little group and barked. "I hope to see you again too, Kei." The Shiba Inu barked happily at her before joining her master's side.

When they were gone, Yuri went back to the Jinnouchi family. "I know I can't just join the family," she said, "and I don't know if I deserve to be a part of it either, but…"

Kiyomi went forward and hugged her. "Yuri, you were always a part of this family."

"Yes, there was no doubt," Mariko added.

"We Jinnouchis were always there for the Takeda clan!" Mansuke exclaimed.

One by one everyone began welcoming the newest edition to the family. Kazuma, Natsuki, and Kenji stood and watched as Yuri was enveloped by the mob of Jinnouchis. "So, your girlfriend's going to be living with you now, Kazuma. Aren't you thrilled?"

"Shut up, Natsuki."

She merely laughed at him. "You can't hide it any longer, King Kazma. You're really a big softy underneath that hard exterior."

"Who knew?" Kenji said.

They both expected the tan boy to walk away or grunt in reply, but instead, he shrugged and said, "I guess I am."

As he walked away, Kenji and Natsuki exchanged glances. "Kazuma's really changed, hasn't he?" Kenji said.

"Yeah, but I think it's a good change. Yuri's really brought out the brighter side of him."

Kenji and Natsuki intertwined their hands before going over to join the rest of the Jinnouchi clan.

* * *

><p><strong>This song spoke to me throughout these three chapters 8, 9, and 10. "Not Alone" by Linkin Park. They really know how to make a deep theme song.<strong>

**Just an epilogue away from ending this story!**

_**R&R!**_


	11. Epilogue

Deep into the realm of Usagi's Oasis, King Kazma stood idly with his arms crossed as he watched Usagi fly about her Home with the most glee he'd ever seen on her face.

"Oh come on, Kazma," she shouted from above. "You can't still be bitter at me for beating you again! I'm starting to think the renowned white rabbit is losing his game."

"I'm not losing my game. I'm just going easy on you because it's your special day. Besides, you were pulling tricks."

"What tricks?"

"You know, like when you kissed me!"

The she-bunny stopped and tried to remember that day when she first raced King Kazma in her Home. "… Oh, that? That wasn't really a trick. I just wanted to tease you a bit. But that sure set you back, didn't it!"

King Kazma scowled at her as she laughed at his embarrassment. "Whatever. Those tricks aren't going to work this time. No more playing nice. I want a rematch!"

Usagi smirked. "That's fine with me. As long as you're going to take this seriously, I hope you're fine with me seriously kicking your ass!"

"Hey, I thought profanity was prohibited."

"One of the many privileges of being the commissioner of the OZ Security Task Force," a familiar friend said. Kei, the rambunctious five-tailed fox, aka CEO Kenta Takeuchi, floated down in front of the two OZ-ecutives. "You get to make your own rules. I'm surprised the prominent Usagi hasn't broken more so far." The she-bunny shrugged innocently. "By the way, why are you two still in OZ? Is this really how you want to spend your birthday, Yuri?"

"How'd you even get in here?" Kazma asked.

"I'm the CEO; I'm all-powerful."

Usagi shrugged. "Normally, I don't do anything for my birthday," she replied. "It's not usually a happy celebration."

"What about spending it with your family?"

"I don't know… I'm sure they wouldn't want to make a big fuss over my birthday, not when Lady Sakae's birthday is less than 24 hours away."

"Then you really don't know my family that well, Yuri," King Kazma said. "Everything's a big deal when it comes to family."

Usagi thought considerably. "… One more race, and then we'll log off for breakfast."

King Kazma smirked. "You're on."

**O.O**

Once Kazuma signed off of OZ, he stretched and yawned, feeling the stiff affect of staying since eight in the morning. He rubbed the back of his head as he left his room. Next door, Yuri came out of her room stretching her arms and yawning like he did before. "How long do you think we were on OZ?"

"Five, six hours tops."

Yuri stopped stretching and groaned. "That long? We missed breakfast." A gurgling sound suddenly came from her stomach. She clutched her arms around her waist. "Ow. I never thought hunger could hurt so much. I've never gone this long without food."

Kazuma chuckled. "Come on. Let's get something to eat before we get in trouble with my mom, again."

Kazuma took Yuri's hand as he led her to the kitchen. It had been two weeks since Yuri became a part of the Jinnouchi clan. She had already become accustomed to their labyrinth of a house, but the feel of Kazuma's hand intertwined with hers had already turned into a great comfort. And throughout those two weeks, she was also getting accustomed to other things, like waking to the smell of a delectable meal, being surrounded by people who always wore smiles on their faces, and especially being with Kazuma.

The tan boy had also been enjoying having his girlfriend living with them, and he was especially keen on having her in the room next door. Now everyday he woke up, he would know Yuri would also be starting the day with him.

Once they were both in the kitchen, the whole family jumped out and shouted, "SURPRISE!"

Yuri nearly screamed out of fear and delight—but mostly fear. Everyone from Mariko to little Chiyo was there wishing her a Happy Birthday. Above the kitchen entryway, she saw a banner with her name on it and next to it her family symbol. On the kitchen table of a cake that also had her name on it. No one had done anything this nice for her on her birthday, not since the last time she was with her parents. That was the day of their funeral. But now, seeing all these smiling, warm faces, and seeing everything they'd done, Yuri couldn't help breaking into tears.

She looked at Kazuma. "Did you know about this?"

He shrugged indifferently. "I had to give them time to set this up."

Yuri replied by swinging her arms around his neck and kissing him fiercely. "Thank you," she mumbled against his lips.

Once again, the aunts from the peanut gallery were cooing at the teens in the background, and Kazuma couldn't help grimacing. "Alright, you two," Kiyomi said. "Not in front of the children."

"_Mom._"

Chi was the first to toddle over to her, and the ashen-haired teen immediately lifted her into her arms and hugged the squealing toddler. Slowly, the rest of the family began to give her their own birthday wishes.

Kazuma stood by as he watched the party get into full swing. Kenji and Natsuki went up to Kazuma after they talked to Yuri. "So, what do you plan to do for Yuri on her special day?" Natsuki asked nosily.

"None of your business," he said.

"Come on, Kazuma," Kenji urged as he elbowed the younger boy. "What did you get her?"

"… Nothing."

Kenji and Natsuki gawked at him. "You got her _nothing_?" they said in shocked unison.

"All Yuri wanted was a family, people she could rely on so she wouldn't always be alone. I'm not really good at finding the perfect gift, but I'd say that's perfect enough."

"Aw, that's really deep of you, Kazuma," Natsuki praised.

"Yeah… and I also planned something for _later on_."

The older two made dumbfounded expressions.

"Again, you two should see your faces." Kazuma walked away, leaving them to gap.

Kazuma stopped by the veranda when he caught a glimpse of Yuri talking to Naomi and Rika. When she caught sight of him, she smiled and blushed. He waved at her and smiled back. He couldn't believe how the beginning of his summer, a chance encounter with this gray-eyed wonder, led to these current events.

During these past two months, he met an extraordinary girl who turned out to be a _hikikomori_, an avatar as powerful as King Kazma who turned out to be the same _hikikomori_, and in the end, this _hikikomori_, the most incredible girl he'd ever met, was adopted by his awesome family.

As far as Kazuma knew, this was the best summer ever.

**I hope you all enjoyed this ending! When I was started writing this story, I planned for the ending to be a little different, so I decided to add all those things into a brilliant sequel! We're not ending this story with a boring summer fling, people! Watch out for the sequel, "Konton"!**

_**R&R!**_


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